


Spider-Man: The Enemy Within

by thatispunacceptable



Series: Fallen Hero [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Peter Parker, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Depressed Tony Stark, Explosions, Pepper Potts as Rescue, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 56,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18626242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatispunacceptable/pseuds/thatispunacceptable
Summary: Part 3: One year after the events of The Old Man's Battle, Peter Parker is preparing to go to college and wants to spend the small break he has in between with his friends, Ned and MJ. When disaster strikes New York City and a new enemy emerges, Peter finds himself teaming up with the last person he want's to see: Tony Stark.(This was planned out pre Endgame release. So obviously not canon, just some fun. ;) )





	1. An Explosive Start

“I can’t believe we’re done!” Peter exclaimed excitedly from his seat in the corner booth at the small café he sat in with his best friend Ned, and his now girlfriend, MJ.

Ned nodded excitedly and he sucked his chocolate milkshake up through a straw.

“I’m so excited for college! Think about it Peter, we’ll be roommates!” He exclaimed, speaking quickly through his excitement.

Beside him, Peter saw MJ roll her eyes a little, but he knew she didn’t mean it by the small smile playing at her lips. Peter grinned, today had been perfect, they’d finally graduated high school, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and, he got to spend as much time as he wanted with Ned and MJ since none of them had homework. The only damper on the day had been that May had rushed back to work right after the ceremony.

“So, what are you guys planning on doing during the break?” MJ asked, crossing her arms and leaning forward on the small table, her eyes darting to Peter as she gave him a soft smile.

Ned looked between the two, pretending to ignore the look they shared, and then pushed his own response forward.

“Well, Peter and I have been working on some decryption codes, we’re hoping to be able to use them once we get into college. Besides,” He paused, to give his friend a cheeky grin, “Peter needs all the practice he can get with coding.” He added with a small laugh.

Beside him, MJ snorted, her hand coming up to grip Peter’s arm. Peter gave his friend a fake glare, and pretended to laugh it off. But he really was a little defensive about his computer skills. They really weren’t that bad!

“What about you, MJ, any plans?” Peter asked, hoping to draw the focus away from himself.

“Just gonna watch you get schooled by Ned.” She replied seriously, her grin betraying her.

Ned and MJ shared a high five across the table, laughing at their friend’s expense. Peter pouted a little, Ned, noticing this, jumped to defend his joke.

“Hey, you had Spider-Man and that was your cool thing. We get to make fun of you for not knowing how to code.” He said, his grin faltering as he saw Peter’s expression fall into a real frown. He quickly spoke to retract what he said. “Peter, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you’re still upset about, you know, how everything went down.”

Peter studied his hands as they sat on the cream table top for a second. Then, allowing himself a moment, he looked out the window to the brightly lit city street besides them. Watching as some of his own classmates walked by with family and friends, each celebrating their recent graduation in nearby restaurants and cafes. 

“It’s okay.” He finally said, looking back at Ned and forcing a smile. “I mean, it was nearly a year ago. I should probably just, you know, get over it.”

Ned gave him a small smile, and patted his arm comfortingly. MJ watched their exchange, but, in a small attempt to allow them some privacy, allowed her eyes to wander to the small T.V in the corner of the café, it hung from the ceiling allowing as many customers as possible a view of its screen. She felt her eyes widen slightly as she watched the screen and read the title card, following along with the subtitles on the screen.

“An exciting day in New York as American royalty has been born!” The screen read, the picture showing an expensive car pulling up in front of large tower, paparazzi cameras flashing as it drove toward a private entrance.

MJ looked over at Ned, trying to signal for him to keep Peter’s eyes distracted. This did not work, as Ned gave her a weird look, before turning to look over the top of the booth seat and at the screen himself, ultimately drawing Peter’s attention up also.

“Tony Stark and Pepper Potts-Stark returning from the hospital after the birth of their first child.” The camera continued to show the now shut gate that led to the parking garage, before showing older footage of Tony and Pepper that had been taken throughout Peppers pregnancy.

Beside her, she heard Peter take a shaky breath, and saw him grip the edge of the table out of the corner of her eye. 

“The couple have not released any pictures of the child and it is not yet known what they have named their child. Many are speculating that the couple will not be allowing the media access to their child under any circumstances. This will mean that this child will have quite a different up bringing to that of Tony Stark, who grew up as a media darling.”  
MJ turned to Peter, and squeezed his arm. He took his eyes off of the screen to look back down at the table. He felt his jaw stiffen a little, today had been so perfect, in fact, he had managed to avoid any Tony Stark related news for a whole month, and now today of all days, his streak had ended. Ned leaned forward a little, eyes worried.

“Dude, you okay? You want to talk about it?” He asked.

Peter looked between the two, touched and thankful that he had friends he could count on. He remembered the days leading up to his final conversation with Mr. Stark quite vividly. He could remember with painful accuracy, how Mr. Stark had turned away from him, leaving him standing alone in the hanger, crying as the older man chose to walk out. He could remember their final conversation, where Mr. Stark admitted he wouldn’t let Peter always defend the people he cared about. Peter remembered his own words, and felt the crushing weight of them on his chest anytime he saw Mr. Starks name or face. The memories were painful, and he had told no one about their final exchange in the lab, not even May, who had had to deal with his crying for hours after he finally returned home. He shook his head, forcing a small smile to come forward.

“No, no. It’s alright. Let’s just, um, talk about something else?”

Ned and MJ shared a worried look, one that Peter didn’t miss.

“Guys, seriously. I don’t want to talk about it.” He reaffirmed. 

His two friends gave in, leaning back into their seats. They had only relaxed for a moment when Ned leaned forward again, his eyes lighting up with a new topic of conversation.

“So, MJ-“ He was cut off quite suddenly as a loud sound boomed through the air. 

Peter felt the glass window next to him shatter as fire seemed to rush through. He turned as fast as his enhanced reflexes would allow him, shielding MJ’s body with his own as the two were pushed down against the booth seat, an explosion ripped through the café they sat in. Across from him, Ned was pushed down onto the seat from the force of the blast, glass raining down on him. Peter looked around for a second, and saw MJ’s limp body beneath him, blood in her hair. Sitting up slightly and gasping for air, he looked over at Ned and swore loudly, seeing large pieces of glass in his unconscious friend’s leg. He went to spring up and jump over the table to Ned when another explosion tore through the café, knocking him down. Peter groaned as something hit his head and his world went black.

 

 

“Well that was a fucking nightmare.” Tony said, getting out of the driver's seat of his Mercedes that he had just parked in one of his many private parking spaces, moving around to the back to open Peppers door for her and offering his arm as she shuffled forward with her still swollen belly to get out of the car.

She glared up at him, still tired and in pain from two days of labour, despite having stayed another two days in the private room recovering.

“I told you, you’re not allowed to swear in front of the baby!” She whispered, her eyes shooting to the baby that slept in its car seat next to her. She had insisted on sitting in the back next to the baby, just in case. 

Tony rolled his eyes, but sent her a playful grin.

“She’s literally two days old, Pep. I doubt she can understand anything I’m saying.”

She gripped his arm tightly and pulled herself up, out of the back seat, groaning slightly as she did. He looked down at her, concern showing in the crease of his forehead. He slid a hand to her forearm, rubbing his thumb lightly.

“You okay?” He asked softly, “Do you want to go back to the hospital?”

She shook her head, but gave him a small, weary smile. He quickly planted a kiss on her hairline before bending into the back seat of the car and lifting out the tiny, new born baby girl from her car seat. He felt his heart constrict a little as he rested her against his shoulder, his other hand gently cradling her head. He planted a small kiss on her tiny head as he stood to face Pepper once again. She smiled at him, eyes shining. 

“Fatherhood looks good on you.” She said softly, coming forward and resting a hand on the little girls back. She looked up him just in time to catch the look of guilt that flashed over his face.

He softly grunted a response, not wanting to have a deep discussion about his failures while he held his own daughter in his arms. Using his foot, he gently kicked the door shut and began to walk toward his personal lift.

“Tony, we need my bag.” Pepper said, walking beside him slowly, her arm around his waist as she leaned on him a little.

“We can get it once you’re settled in. We’ve got everything we need in the apartment anyway.” He reminded her gently, slowing his pace so that she would not exert too much energy.

They arrived at the metal lift doors, and Pepper reached out to touch the button, her arm still gripping tightly around his waist.

“Nuh, uh.” He said quickly when her finger was only a centimetre away, turning his head away from the sleeping baby on his other shoulder so that she wouldn’t be startled.

She looked up at him, slightly confused.

“Friday, open lift.” He said.

The lift doors opened, and Pepper gave him a slightly quizzical lift, but followed him in anyway.

“You seriously did that?” She asked, an eyebrow raised.

He glanced down at the baby on his shoulder, soothed a hand over her head, nodding slightly as he did.

“I don’t like pressing buttons.” He simply stated. “Friday, living quarters.”

The lift doors closed behind them and the machine rose quickly to their apartment. 

“Wh-why? When?” She asked, eyes wide.

He gave her an incredulous look.

“Pep. You’ve been with me for over a decade. This is the least weird thing I’ve done in that time.” He felt his chin jut forward, slightly defensive. 

“You don’t like being handed things and now you don’t like pressing buttons?” She asked, her voice showing her disbelief.

“It’s just a thing!” He defended himself. “Besides, now you don’t have to worry about pressing some gross button when you don’t even know who else had pressed it.”

She stared up at him.

“You are the only other person who touches that button.” She pointed out.

“Whatever! It’s not the weirdest thing I’ve done!” He said quickly, eyes wide. 

She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe, but it’s certainly the laziest.” She said quietly.

“What?” He huffed, “I’m a Dad now, I have a baby to carry.” He said nodding toward the still sleeping girl in his arms and sending her an innocent look as the doors opened to their living room. Pepper just shook her head, turning away from him, but Tony could see the corners of her mouth move up into a smile. He chuckled lightly to himself in response. 

Pepper shuffled out slowly, and Tony took his hand away from the sleeping child’s head, leaning his shoulder back so gravity would hold it in place, and gently put his hand on the small of Pepper’s back, attempting to assist her in some small way. 

“You alright?” He asked again softly.

She nodded slightly, and turned to face him in the soft lighting of the apartment. He looked down slightly at her, and despite the obvious tiredness and physical pain, saw the tender look in her eyes. She reached up slightly on her toes and planted a small kiss on his lips. 

“Thank you.” She whispered. 

He gave her an odd look, not quite following her train of thought.

“For looking after us.” She whispered, still looking up at him.

He smiled down at her.

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Stark.” He replied gently.

She narrowed her eyes playfully and backed away toward their room.

“Mrs. Potts-Stark.” She quipped, slowly making her way down the hall, he followed slightly, “And remember, you only get to be like this for a few weeks while I’m on maternity leave. After that, I’m the boss again!” She finished with a small chuckle and a teasing glance back. 

He grinned back at her, still following slightly from a distance as she arrived at their bedroom door. She turned back to him.

“I’m going to get cleaned up and then lie down.”

He nodded.

“Call out if you need me.” He said gently, then watched as she shuffled through their room to the connected ensuite. 

Turning and making his way slowly down the hall, his hand returning to cradle his daughters head, he headed toward the living room and sat down as gently as he could on the couch, awkwardly leaning forward to grab the remote and cringing as he pressed the power button for the T.V., switching it straight to the news channel and lowering the volume.

“I’ll have to fix that button next.” He said to the sleeping baby. He craned his neck and looked at her, frowning slightly, “You don’t care, do you?”

He chuckled when he was met with expected silence, and turned his eyes to the screen, his laugh dying in his throat as he saw the news.

“A suspected terrorist attack occurred today near Midtown High injuring and killing several recently graduated students and their families who were celebrating at nearby cafes and restaurants.” The reported said as images come on the screen of a nearly destroyed city block.

Tony felt his heart tighten in terror at the name of the school, and he felt his chest begin to heave slightly.

“Friday, call Happy.” He said, risking a glance at the baby. 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it out so that Happy could see him. The man answered on the first ring.

“Boss, I take it you’ve seen the news. I was just about to call.” He said as greeting, his eyes glancing warily at the sleeping baby on Tony’s shoulder.

“What going on? Was the kid there? Is he okay?” he asked quickly, words falling over each other.

Happy seemed to pause, the screen displaying him capturing every moment of his hesitation. Tony gulped, knowing bad news was coming.

“Please, Hap.” He pleaded softly.

Happy sighed.

“Boss, he was here.” He finally said.

Tony took in a large gulp of air, eyes flicking around the room.

“The tracking device signal was lost right as the explosion went off.”

Tony took large shaking breaths and felt tears come to his eyes. He turned his head, kissing his daughters head slightly trying to calm himself.

“Sorry, Tony.” Happy said sadly, his own voice sounding chocked, “I’ll keep an eye out for hospital lists and I’ll see what I can find out.”

Tony barely nodded, then, ending the call, dropped the phone onto the couch and held his daughter close to his chest.


	2. Aftermath

Peter awoke slowly, his eyes seeming to take forever to open, and, when they did, when had to blink multiple times before the world around him came into focus. He groaned slightly as he realised he was lying on the floor of the café, debris surrounding him and a weird smell hanging in the air. There was a painful throbbing at the back of his head and he tentatively reached out a hand to touch the back of his head, sucking in his breath as he felt a sticky patch, but not panicking as he found no open wound, his quickened healing abilities having saved his life from whatever injury he had received. He slowly pushed himself off of his stomach and brushed his torn shirt and pants off as he fell back onto his knees. He looked around him, the café was destroyed, he felt his panic beginning to rise in him as he saw a body across the room. Breathing hard, his mind travelled to MJ and Ned, who had been sitting in the booth with him. He jumped up quickly, but had to catch himself on the nearby countertop that he had somehow been thrown to, dizziness overcoming him for a second. He gasped, taking deep breaths of air, closing his eyes until the feeling passed. Opening them once more, he turned to look at the booth he had been sitting in earlier, he had no idea how much time had passed. He bit back a strangled cry as he saw MJ’s unconscious face covered in blood, still lying on the booth seat, and the end of Ned’s foot poking out from under the table. Without a moment’s hesitation, and with complete disregard to hiding his abilities from society, he ran over and lowered his ear to MJ’s mouth, letting out a sigh of relief as he heard her laboured breathing. Quickly, he ducked under the table and did the same to Ned, panic rising even though he heard his friend breath, the large chunks of glass in his leg did not bode well.

He crawled out from under the table, wishing for the first time in nearly a year that he had brought the Spider-Man suit with him so he could ask for Karen’s help. He couldn’t pull them out without hurting them further, he needed to remove the table so that he could lift them and carry them to safety. He jumped into action, adrenalin kicking in, he ripped the table from the ground, tossing it in a slightly open space behind him and then stepped back, trying to decide who to take first. He had no way of knowing who had worse injuries without Karen scanning and telling him about broken bones or internal bleeding. He decided to risk it, and based his decision purely on external injuries. He crouched down and slowly lifted Ned from the ground, his friend groaning in pain as he did. As carefully as he could, he jumped through the shattered window next to the booth and ran towards the end of the block, not as quickly as he could have as his head was still giving him quite some pain.

He could see the EMT’s ahead, and shouted as he came near, catching their attention. They turned, and seeing Ned in Peter’s arms, quickly began to run towards him with an empty stretcher. He met them halfway, laying Ned down as gently as he could. One of the EMT’s, an older man, gave him an odd look, putting his hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“Kid. How on earth did you carry your friend out?” He asked.

Not wanting to waste time answering question, Peter just shrugged, already beginning to run backwards.

“There are others!” He yelled, now turning and running back to the smashed window. He jumped through, this time picking up MJ as gently as he could. He paused before jumping out the window again, looking around the room, he could hear the moans of other injured people. He knew he couldn’t just stop with MJ and Ned, he needed to get as many as he could.

He turned, jumping out the window, his jeans tearing against the sharp glass as he did. He ran towards the EMT’s. They had now begun to walk down the block toward his café, carrying stretchers, he felt relief fill him, he would only have to carry the survivors a short distance. Stopping at the nearest approaching EMT, he placed MJ down on the stretcher as gently as he could. He frowned, realising this was the same old EMT as before.

“Kid. You’re bleeding.” He said, pointing to Peter’s head.

“Oh, no.” He quickly said, “This, uh, this will be fine.” Vaguely gesturing to the back of his head.

He looked down at MJ, glad that he was able to rescue at least two of his friend. Quickly glancing up, he gave the EMT an unconvincing smile and turned to run back to the café. This time, he finally saw the full destruction of the explosion. Most of the city block had been destroyed. He felt bile rise in his throat as he finally saw the bodies on the street, even recognising a few faces. Balloons trapped by their strings under rubble, graduation hats now in the middle of the road.

“What the hell.” He whispered, his vision going blurry.

He felt the old man’s hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, kid.”

Peter took some deep breaths, but then felt his world go black as one again, he fell unconscious. 

 

Tony was in panic mode, he’d run into the bathroom, interrupting Peppers well-earned sponge bath, basically babbling to her about Peter and some horrible thing that had happened that he just couldn’t seem to spit out. This of course had woken the baby who began to fuss against his shoulder, this in turn, upset Pepper, leading to both of them frantically speaking over each other.

“Tony, stop!” Pepper finally exclaimed, wrapping her bath robe around herself and grabbing the fussy baby from his arms.

He looked down, eyes clearly showing he had not noticed her fussing, and guilt filling him at the realisation. 

Pepper settled the baby, cradling her in her arms, rocking her gently and leaning back against the bathroom counter top.

“Slow down, and tell me what’s happened with Peter.” She said quietly.

He looked at her, his eyes wide and frantic, taking deep, heaving breaths, his mouth seemed to quiver a little before he finally spoke.

“He’s dead.” He simply said.

Pepper stood up straight, her own eyes going wide and some horrible feeling rising in her.

“Are you sure?” She asked, freeing a hand to touch his arm gently.

Tony ducked his head, a hand running over his face. He bit his lower lip and nodded, not meeting her eyes. 

“The, uh.’ He sniffed, and then cleared his throat, struggling to continue, “There was a tracking device on him.” He admitted, Pepper did not react, not at all concerned about her husband’s weird need to track people right at this moment, “It was connected to his vitals.”

He looked at her, eyes filling with tears, one or two even escaping.

“Happy said it turned off when the explosion hit.”

Pepper scrunched her eyebrows slightly.

“What explosion?” She asked gently.

Tony didn’t respond, the overwhelming weight of his guilt and grief hitting him like a tonne of bricks. He stumbled forward and pulled both Pepper and the baby into his arms and buried his face into her shoulder, his mind filled with images of his last encounter with Peter, the boy walking away from him because he had been too afraid to step up. Pepper wrapped her free arm around him and just held him as he sobbed gently into her shoulder, her own tears filling her eyes. After a moment, she pushed him back, not at all unkindly.

“Are you sure?” She asked, holding back her own sob.

He looked at her, chin shaking a little.

“Happy said-“

“Yes, but even your technology can fail.” She said hopefully.

He shook his head, tears still coursing down his face.

“No, it doesn’t.” He admitted, wishing for once in his life he had invented something besides Dumi that was unreliable. 

She reached up to cup his face, her own tears coming freely. 

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered.

Suddenly, Tony felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

“Incoming call from: Happy Hogan.” Friday announced.

“Audio only.” Tony said, not wanting Happy to the how vulnerable he and Pepper looked right now. “Speaker.” He added after seeing peppers face.

“Boss, I’ve got an update.” Happy said, sounding a little breathless.

Tony shared a quick glance with Pepper, before looking back at the phone screen.

“What?” He asked, his own voice still thick with tears.

“The device turned back on. I don’t know how. But it says he’s still at the café”

Tony let out a surprised breath, and heard Peppers gasp next to him. He couldn’t believe it, the kid was alive!

“How?” He managed to sputter out.

He heard Happy’s own sputtering at the other end of the phone.

“Enhanced healing? I don’t know. But I would get in touch with May and see how she’s doing. She might be open to some help if Peter’s injured.” Happy suggested.

Tony felt a small, shocked smile pulling at his mouth.

“Okay, thanks Hap. Keep me posted.” He said, hanging up.

He looked over at Pepper, and pulled her and the baby in for another hug, burying his face in her neck before pulling back, holding up his phone for her to see.

“You okay if I go down to the lab for a bit? I should call May.” He asked, already stepping back, but he was willing to stop if Pepper needed him.

She nodded, holding the tiny baby closer.

“Just come to bed tonight.” She said quietly.

He nodded and rushed forward to plant a grateful kiss on her lips, and then one on the baby’s head. Turning he rushed down the hall to the lift, directing Friday to lower him down to his lab.

Once the doors finally opened, he jogged through the glass entry way and quickly entered his pin at the door. HE walked briskly over to his computer and logged on.

“Friday, access all EMT files from today, look for Parker, Peter.” He said and turned away as he pulled out his phone and selected May parker from the contacts on the transparent screen. He looked over his shoulder to see the Friday had begun to access the database and was searching through admission files. It would take a few minutes. 

May finally answered on the fifth ring.

“What do you want, Tony?” She asked, clearly distracted and sounding a little out of breath.

He cringed a little, knowing the woman hated him. She had left one of the nastiest voice mails he had ever received in his life a few days after Peter had left for the last time. But he had listened to every word, knowing that he deserved it. 

“I just heard about the explosion and Happy told me Pete was there. Have you seen him?” He asked quickly.

She hesitated before answering.

“Yes. I’ve seen him.” She said coolly.

He breathed deeply before continuing.

“Is he okay? Can I speak with him?”

Another pause.

“Tony, he’s okay. Just a mild concussion, his healing stopped all of the major injuries.” She explained as Tony felt a wave of relief pass over him, it was short lived. “But no, you can’t speak with him.”

“Wha- I don- I just want to make sure he’s okay!” He quickly said, hoping that she would cave and he would be able to hear Peter’s voice again. “Please, May.”

“Tony, you chose not to have Peter in your life. And right now, he’s hurt and he’s scared and he’s friends are still unconscious. Just give him space.” She said.

He cringed, remembering how he had asked Peter for space.

“Please, May.” He begged a little.

“No. But I’ll let him know you called. He can call you back if he wants to.” She said briskly.

“Okay, than-“ He was cut off by the dial tone. He frowned down at the phone, but placed it on his work bench, next to his favourite little drone, Benson 1. 

Turning back to the computer, he saw two files on the screen, neither of which were for Peter Parker.

“Friday, what are these?” He asked, a little annoyed at his A.I.

“They was no admission file for Peter Parker. But these are two of his friends, he mentioned them frequently when he was with you. Both injured in the explosion.”

He nodded slightly.

“Okay, have someone contact the hospital and we’ll cover the medical bills for those two. Put it under the September foundation.”

“Will do boss.”

“Oh, and pull up Peter’s tracking device. Tell me where he is.”

He looked at the screen as the files disappeared and a map appeared, showing a small, blinking dot at Peter Parker’s apartment in Queens. He wasn't going to question why the kid wasn't at the hospital.

He smiled a little to himself, glad that even though he couldn’t speak to him, he could know Peter was safe at home with his Aunt.


	3. The Consultant

Peter had no idea how she had done it, but May had managed to get him home, and, despite his desire to follow Ned and MJ to the hospital, he had been easily persuaded by the pounding in his head to follow May back to her car, the EMT who had caught him after he went into shock shaking his head a little was they walked off. 

It had taken them several minutes to go to the car, May had had to park several blocks away since all of the nearby streets at been closed down by the police and other emergency services. They had arrived home and May informed him that he could not lie down for several hours, but took him into the bathroom to wash away most of the blood on the back of his head. She had stepped out halfway through to take a phone call, frowning when she saw the name on the screen. He had tried to listen in, but his ears seemed to be blocked, all he heard was her muffled voice from the hallway. She had come back in after a moment and didn’t say anything, but he saw the way her brow creased. Finally, after the blood was cleaned, she announced that his wound had shrunken to a small scratch, but she suspected it had been much worse at the time of the explosion. She helped him removes his torn clothing, and gently eased him into the shower, closing the curtain and standing just outside the bathroom door as he scrubbed away the dirt and blood on his skin. After a few minutes, he turned off the shower and stepped out, drying off, he threw on the pyjamas that may had thoughtfully provided for him. Opening the door, he saw that May was once again on the phone, he frowned, a little worried about his hearing.

“Okay, thank you.” She said, ending the call and looking back him. She seemed to study him for a moment before pulling him into her arms. He returned her hug immediately, wrapping her arms around her, thankful for her presence in his life. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay.” She whispered, her head leaning on his shoulder. 

He nodded slightly. She pulled back and grabbed his hand, leading him to the couch where she sat him down. She sat next to him, pushing some long hair behind her ears.

“Who was that?” He asked gently

She smiled at him, trying to reassure him softly.

“I called one of the nurses at the hospital Ned and MJ were sent to.” She explained, placing a comforting hand on Peters arm. He leaned forward, eager for news on his friends.

“And?”

“They’ll be okay, Peter.” She assured him. He let out a breath, feeling his shoulders relax for the first time in hours. “Ned had to have surgery on his leg, but thankfully it wasn’t too major, just a lot of stitches. And MJ has a nasty concussion. They said that both of them should be okay to leave by the end of the week.”

He nodded, a smile coming on his face. His friends would be okay.

She turned away, looking down at her hands and then glancing up at the TV.

“Want to watch a movie to stay awake?” She asked.

He frowned, he could sense that she was hiding something.

“Uh, yeah. What were you thinking?” He asked, his brow creasing a little.

“Maybe Star Wars?” She offered with a forced smile, then stood up to walk towards the kitchen, “I’ll get some popcorn! You get the movie going.”

“Okay.” He agreed quietly, his eyes staring at the phone May had left on the table. She had taken a call earlier, one that had left her annoyed and frustrated.

“Uh, May?” He called.

She looked up from where she worked at the small kitchen bench.

“Who called earlier?” He asked

Her smile dropped immediately and she put down the bowl she had in her hands. Peter frowned further at this, but the now dull ache of his skull didn’t allow him to think clearly enough to come to a conclusion.

She walked back over to the couch and sat down next to him again, hesitating before she opened her mouth. He watched her closely.

“Um, that was, uh.” She began, looking anywhere but at him as she spoke, “Mr. Stark.” She said so quietly that Peter’s still muffled ears weren’t sure they picked it up correctly.

He unconsciously leaned back into the couch slightly, his heart pounding and head spinning. Mr. Stark had called! 

“Oh.” He simply said, not really sure what else to say. He sat forward again, and began to fiddle with his fingers. “What, uh, what did he want?”

May looked at him, worry filling her fine features.

“He wanted to know if you were okay. He said he knew you were there.”

“Oh, okay. Um.” He said, a thousand thoughts flying into his hurting brain, but two of them taking priority. “What did you tell him?”

She hesitated for a moment, before looking back into his eyes.

“I told him I would let you know he called, and that you would call him back if you felt like it.” She said quickly, eyes conveying her concern. 

He nodded slowly, one question remaining present in his mind.

“How did he know where I was?” He asked as casually as he could muster it. “Did he say?”

An odd look crossed over May’s face, she shook her head.

“He said Happy told him.”

He gave her an unconvinced look.

“How did Happy know? Did he tell you that?”

“No, he didn’t say.” She admitted.

He thought for a moment, he leaned forward and rested his chin on his fist. He had to, just for a moment, think like Mr. Stark. It pained him greatly to do so, but suddenly the answer hit him.

“That fucking son of a bitch!” He finally exclaimed, then slapped a hand over his mouth as he saw May’s horrified expression. 

“Sorry!” He quickly said. She just stared at him for a moment.

“My backpack. He knew that I wouldn’t go out as Spider-Man for a while after our chat, and I had been getting better at not losing them. He put a tracker in my back pack that is no doubt connected to something on my body! I probably swallowed it in some food last year and he’s programed it to stay inside me!” 

May drew her eyebrows together.

“That seems far-fetched Peter. I mean, I totally believe he’s tracking you, I just don’t think he would go to the trouble of creating a tracker that wouldn’t pass through your digestive system.”

Peter stood up, his head spinning a little as he did.

“No, May. It’s Tony Stark, he’s crazy! He would defiantly go to all that trouble!”

“Peter!” She exclaimed, watching as he frantically rambled through the possibilities of Mr. Starks tracking devices. “Just sit down. You’re injured and clearly not thinking straight.”

Peter looked down at her, and finally slumped back into the couch letting out a frustrated huff.

“Peter. Look, you know I don’t like him, but, maybe you should call him back.” She suggested, cringing at her own words.

He gave her a sharp look.

“And say what exactly?”

“Just tell him you’re okay.”

He gave the tiniest shake of his head.

“No.” He said in a small voice, looking down at his hands, sitting right on the edge of the couch. 

 

It was well after mid-night, and Peter sat up on his bed looking out the window, unable to sleep after the events of the day. He and May had finished watching two movies when she had announced it was okay for him to lie down, having calculated his advanced healing factors into the usual twenty-four hour waiting period for head injuries. But he’d gone into his room, dead tired, only to toss and turn for several hours, the images of his dead classmates burned into his mind. He had to do something, he hadn’t been able to protect any of them, he had to do something to make it right. Getting up, he went to his closet and pulled out his old Spider-Man onesie with the thick goggles. He frowned to himself as a thought entered his mind as to how he could help. He knew he was smarter than average, and, despite Ned and MJ’s teasing, he had strong coding and hacking skills. He frowned a little to himself as he put down the old suit, and reached further into the closet, hesitating before his hand grabbed the first outfit Mr. Stark had ever given him. He almost put it right back down before reminding himself that he needed Karen’s help. Tentatively, he put the mask over his head, the inside came to life despite years of neglect due to Peter’s preference for the Iron-Spider costume, and then reverting back to his original outfit. 

“Hello, Peter. Good to see you again.” Karen greeted him, and despite himself, he found that he was grinning, happy to hear the familiar voice of Karen. 

“Hey Karen, good to be back. Hey, uh, if I put on the suit, will Mr. Stark know?” He asked quickly.

“I sent him an alert as soon as you put on the mask.” She replied.

He groaned, but reached forward for the rest of the suit, shoving it on and then fitting it to his body, knowing that he had removed the tracking device from this suit many years ago. 

“You think he’ll call once he see’s the alert?” He asked.

“According to my data history, you are likely to receive a five minute phone call from him.”

“Wha- How do you know that?” He asked, walking over to his window and sliding it up.

“I keep track of all communications you have in this suit and historically, Tony Stark has called you for five minutes each time you put the suit on, starting in two-thousand-seventeen.”

Peter rolled his eyes slightly.

“Well, if he calls, don’t answer.” He said as he swung up to the roof top.

He slowly made his way across the city, and bit down the rising anxiety in his chest as he came closer to the site of the explosion. Once he was only a few buildings away from the café, he stopped on the roof, surveying his surroundings. It looked slightly better in the dark, the night sky covering the most horrible aspects of the disaster. But dust still filled the air, and Peter could see spots of blood everywhere, even though the bodies had been removed. Despite the late hour, there were still many people cleaning up. He spotted a group of three FBI agents surrounding what looked like an area that had been totally cleared.

“Hey Karen, what’s going on over there?” He asked.

The screen zoomed in and the microphones on the suit picked up what they were saying.

“Looks like the bombs were both detonated from here. One went off and then the other had a slight delay, exploding a few minutes after.” One FBI agent said.

“There are pieces of the bomb lying around, sir.” Another said, the first two waiting for a response from the other man, who was clearly in charge.

He seemed to pause before he spoke.

“Okay, well, the consultant will be here soon, let’s get his input on the bombs and then we can move forward.”

Peter nodded slightly.

“Okay, Karen. That’s enough.” He said, his vision and hearing returned to normal. 

Something caught his eye, something on the ground just in front of him. He looked around quickly and saw a small piece of metal on the ground, covered in dust and lying in some swept aside debris, it appeared to have some form of engraving on it. Just as he was about to jump down to the ground to investigate, he heard the agents speaking again and looked up. Another man had joined them, he was not dressed like them, he wore a well-fitting suit with something akin to a laptop bag over his shoulder.

Peter watched him for a moment, eyes narrowed, he did not seem to be a threat, but, he seemed uncomfortably familiar. He moved toward the ledge again, seeing that the agents were distracted by the man, probably the consultant. He made it to the edge, accidently kicking off two loose stones, causing them to fall to the ground a little louder than Peter had expected. He glanced up and saw that, to his horror, the agents were looking over in his direction. They were not looking at him, just at the ground where the rocks had fallen. He felt his heart pounding, but had a moment of relief once he realised they were looking at the ground. He breathed out slowly, but caught his breath as he saw the consultant staring right at him. His heart caught in his throat at the sight of Mr. Stark and he quickly jumped back farther into the shadows, knowing that it had been too dark for Mr. Stark to have recognised him from that distance. 

He waited a moment, but shuffled forward again, he let out a sigh as he saw Mr. Stark lowering his laptop bag to the ground and opening it up. He frowned, since when had Mr. Stark carried a laptop bag? But he shook the thought and took advantage of his momentary distraction. Coming back to the ledge, he aimed his web shooter at the piece of metal and fired. He hit his target and brought it back up to himself, then, eager to avoid a run-in, he disappeared into the night, back toward his small apartment with May. 

 

A small rock hitting the ground may have been nothing to the other agents, but to Tony, it was suspicious. He had arrived only minutes before, having been called in as an explosives consultant in their investigation. He hated that he knew so much about the weapons, but as a former manufacturer, he felt he needed to contribute in stopping these horrible incidents in any way he could, and, since he had retired the Iron Man, for good this time, he had taken up consulting for many major agencies. 

The other agents looked away, assuming the rock had been on the edge anyway, but Tony could have sworn he had seen a flash of red and some narrowed white eyes. He watched the spot carefully for another moment, before turning back to the other agents.

“One second.” He said, lowering the bag on his shoulder to the ground and pulling out his favourite little drone, Benson 1.

The agents looked at him, a little confused. He understood their confusion, he may be a genius who had access to some of the most advanced technologies in the world, but for some reason, he was attached to this little beaten up drone. He pulled some glasses out of his suit pocket and spoke to them.

“Friday, send Benson to investigate the disturbance on that building.” He said, and watched as his little drone flew up into the air, he received a view of everything little Benson’s camera picked up right into his glasses, he also received heat signatures.

“Anything?” He asked.

“Looks like someone was on the ledge, boss. It seems that they have taken something from the ground here.” Friday replied, sending the visual evidence to his glasses.

He frowned.

“Can we follow them.”

“On it boss.” The little drone flew up high, getting a wide view of anyone travelling away from the area. The software focussed in on a few different options before choosing one. Little Benson raced down and toward the target, finally capturing the fleeing culprit on camera.

Tony felt a pang in his chest as he watched the video evidence of Peter swinging away.


	4. Investigation

Peter flew through the night sky, at one point, he was sure that a drone had followed him, but he ignored it, racing back to his little bedroom. When he was about a block away, he turned to make sure the drone had left, satisfied, he quickly climbed up the wall and into his bedroom. Climbing in through the window, he threw his little piece of evidence on the bed and quickly got out of his suit, changing back into his pyjamas. Now changed, he threw himself down on the bed, laying on his stomach, and picked up the piece of metal. He examined it closely. Despite its small size, it was relatively heavy. He noted the size, maybe only five inches long and three inches wide. It was a light grey colour with a small piece of black painting on the edge, something that could have been a logo. He frowned slightly, and turned it over and found an inscription on the other side. It was so small; he couldn’t read it even when squinting. Sighing, he got up and grabbed the mask, asking Karen to zoom in on it. He waited for it to focus, and then bit back a horrified gasp as he read the inscription. It read:

“Stark Industries Weapons Development.  
This is the intellectual property of T. Stark, C. 2001.”

Peter immediately took two things away from this. The first being that Mr. Starks ego was too big for his own good. He made a face at the thought of a younger Tony Stark inscribing his name in his weapons before he sent them to kill people, the thought made him shudder and wonder how he had been so foolish as to allow that man to become an almost father figure to him. Secondly, he knew that despite his growing disdain for Mr. Stark, the man would never allow any of his weapons to be used, not since he had come out as the Iron Man in two-thousand-eight. His brain jumped to a conclusion and his body soon followed as he swung up and sat at his desk, opening the laptop that had been a birthday present from May the year prior. He opened up a program and began to type slowly, taking his time to ensure that the code was correct. It took him time, and when he glanced at the clock, he saw that it was just past four in the morning. He kept going, pushing himself through until he suddenly had access to the server he was looking for. He grinned as he the login and password panel came up. He had to think for a moment, he knew what Mr. Stark’s username was, but the man changed his password at least once a week. He frowned slightly, he had, at one point, known what the pattern to these password changes were, having seen Mr. Stark type them in at various times, he had, of course, pretended to not be looking at the keys. It was always something to do with whatever invention he was the proudest of in order of where he valued them from one to three, the final week of the month being a name of someone the man loved, the number at the end would change according to whatever week of the year it was. The Iron Man suit had always remained at number one, then, Iron-Spider, then came Vision, although Peter argued that vision wasn’t technically an invention, then, finally the name of either Pepper, Rhodey or Peter. Although, Peter frowned a little, he doubted he was on that list now, and, he knew that Mr. Stark finally had a child of his own. He grunted a little at the thought. 

Leaning back in his chair, he thought through, counting which week of the year it was. Yesterday, the day of the explosion had been June fourteenth, meaning that it was the twenty-fourth week. He jotted down the number on an old sheet of paper. He grinned and typed in the presumed password: Iron-Spider24. He leaned back, feeling momentarily victorious, until the screen flashed red, informing him he had the wrong password. He snapped forward in his chair, panicking a little as he knew Mr. Stark would receive an alert on his phone telling him someone had tried to access his private server. He quickly re-did his math, and concluded that he was still correct on the number. Perhaps he had merely gotten the wrong order for the inventions and the name. He needed to think carefully, he only had two more attempts and then he would be locked out, and that would guarantee a visit from Mr. Stark , who would furiously berate him, or possibly even have him arrested for hacking into the server.

He scrunched his eyes closed and thought. Suddenly, it came to him, he had the names and the second inventions confused. He had to know what name it was, he quickly concluded that it was not his and scrapped that from the list. He was certain that Mr. Stark had never used Rhodey’s name in June, and also scrapped that one from the list. It was down to two, Pepper and the name of Mr. Stark’s child. He frowned, he had no idea what the kid was called. He ran his hand over the mask that he still wore, before deciding to commit to Peppers name. He typed it in: Pepper24. Once again the screen turned red. He swore underneath his breath, knowing Mr. Stark would have received another notification for the latest attempt on his server. Only one more attempt, and he had to act quickly, he could almost feel Mr. Stark closing in on him. 

It had to be the name of the kid. Peter frowned, he’d had a conversation once with Mr. Stark about this. But, for the life of him, he was blanking on what name Mr. Stark had said he would call his future kid. He shook his head in frustration, hating that his stress often impeded his ability to access the most crucial pieces of information.

He leaned back in the chair, deciding that he would, however painful it may be, play back as much as the conversation as he could remember, until he remembered the name Mr. Stark had said. Suddenly, he realised something, he had been wearing this suit when the conversation had taken place! He grinned to himself.

“Hey, Karen.” He said quietly, still cautious about waking May in the early hours of the morning. 

“Yes, Peter.”

“You’ve been recording everything I see since I got this suit, right?” 

“Yes, Peter.’ Came her calm response. 

“Uh, if I can’t remember the date of something though, could I just describe like, the topic of the conversation to you? Do you think you’d be able to find it?”

“Yes, what are you looking for?” She asked.

Peter hesitated, not sure he wanted to witness any conversation he had had with Mr. Stark again. 

“Uh, it was, uh, about what we’d name our future kids I think.”

Karen was silent for a moment; Peter saw images of Mr. Starks face flying past his eyes as Karen searched through her data base. Finally, three options came up.

“We spoke about it three times?” He asked in disbelief.

“Well, you spoke about it three times, Peter. Mr. Stark only responded twice in a way that I could calculate.”

Peter let out a huff.

“Okay, open the first file.”

Peter was taken back as he saw the footage from his perspective. It had been in the spring break two years ago, a wonderfully sunny day, a memory that made Peter’s chest ache just a little. He saw himself swing down onto a roof, landing. He seemed to have looked around for a second, finding the roof empty.

“Mr. Stark?” He heard his recorded voice call.

Suddenly, the image jumped a little and Peter cringed as he heard his own voice shriek, and turn to see Mr. Stark standing behind him in the Iron-Man armour, the helmet down, bent over laughing at Peter.

“That was not funny!” Came his younger voice.

Mr. Stark seemed to stare at him, his cheeks a little red from laughing, his eyes bright and happy.

“It most certainly was, Pete.” He had said.

Silence fell over the recording, and Mr. Stark frowned a little, walking closer to where he had stood.

“You alright, kid? Sorry, I didn’t think I would actually scare you.”

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no!” Came his higher pitched voice. “It’s just that, uh, you know, you –uh, you’ve never called me by my name before.”

He watched the recording and noticed something he had not noticed on the day, a small flicker of emotion that came over Mr. Starks face when had said that.

“Haven’t I? The older man had asked, his face a little thoughtful. “Well, it’s a great name Pete.”  
Peter felt his throat grow tight as he continued to watch the interaction, he found himself missing the man. Finally, the conversation lead to what he wanted to see. He cringed as he listened to himself babble some story to Mr. Stark.

“You know, Mr. Stark, my aunts friend is having a Baby, they’re thinking of calling it Peter. How cool is that! I’ll have a mini me!” He had exclaimed. 

Mr. Stark had just given him a small smile before their attention had been grabbed by something in the distance. Mr. Starks helmet had re-appeared and the two of them had reacted instantly, taking off through the city together. 

Peter breathed heavily as the recording ended, some weird tightness coming over his chest. He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Okay, Karen, next recording.”

The next one took over, this time, he and Mr. Stark stood at the top of Stark tower, looking out over the city, something they had done once a month or so, just to watch the skyline together. Pepper had never approved, and Peter found himself smiling at the bitter-sweet memory of Pepper. 

He watched as the skyline changed as he crouched down next to Mr. Starks Iron Man armour, once again, the helmet was not on, then he looked up at the man who seemed to tower above him.

Mr. Stark had looked down at him, giving him a fond smile before sitting down on the edge of the building himself. 

Peter felt his heart in his throat as he remembered this conversation, he knew the name wasn’t in there, but something in him just wanted to watch the memory play back. He remembered vividly, it had been a horrible day, and, in order to cheer him up, Mr. Stark had collected him from school and the two had spent the rest of the day in his lab, before finally coming to the very top of the building. He felt a little tear in his eye as he watched and listened.

“So,” Mr. Stark was saying, “You ever gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

Peters view shook as his younger self shook his head. He heard himself sigh.

“Just a bad day.” Was all he said.

He watched on as once again he saw finer details he had missed. The way Mr. Stark’s face had fallen a little when he said that.

He watched as the older man looked away for a second, before looking back, seeming to hesitate before saying something.

“I’ll tell you about my day then.” He had said, sighing, almost hesitating before continuing, “Pep’s been talking to me about retiring the Iron Man.”

The man had risked a glance at Peter, before looking back out at the skyline.

“A few years ago, when I first met you, she actually broke up with me because I couldn’t give them up. But, then we came to an agreement, and she gave me another chance. But recently, she’s been talking about having kids, and, well, if I’m honest, I kind of want kids as well.” The man admitted.

Peter could hear himself breathing loudly.

“That’s cool,” His younger self finally said, “n-not the breaking up stuff.” He quickly said when Mr. Stark had given him a weird look, “The kid stuff.”

Mr. Stark had chuckled slightly.

“Yes, yes, it is.”

They had sat in comfortable silence for a little while, Peter’s mask looking out at the city before looking back at Mr. Stark.

“You thought of Baby names?” He had asked quite suddenly.

Mr. Stark’s face showed surprise at the question, a little taken aback.

“Uh, well, you know. Um, we’ll get there.” The man had stuttered slightly, a little red coming onto his cheeks.

Peter frowned slightly as he watched the recording, wondering again how he had missed so many little things. 

“Well, you know. Peter is a good name.” His younger self had added in cheekily.

The recording showed Mr. Stark laughing and placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

“I’ve already got one of those.” He’d said with an affectionate chuckle.

The recording ended.

Peter could feel tears coming freely now, he had no idea how he had forgotten such a special moment, but he was beginning to suspect that he may have taken such moments for granted. He sniffed slightly. There was only one more recording, he knew that this one contained the name, but he hesitated, not sure if he wanted to watch any more of the bitter-sweet memories. He took a deep breath, and plunged forward.

“Karen, next recording.” He said shakily.  
The next video started playing. 

This time, Peter stood in Mr. Starks lab leaning against the older man’s work bench as he tinkered with a small watch, wearing a band shirt and old jeans, Peter remembered being amazed as he watched Mr. Stark transform this into the first ever Stark watch. He had no idea why he had been in the suit, probably just messing around or on his way too or from a patrol, but he was grateful he had been wearing it.

“Why do you have a paper notepad?” His younger self asked, pointing next to Mr. Stark.

Mr. Stark hadn’t really responded, just shrugged a little. Peter watched on, remembering how cold the older man could unintentionally be when he was spiralling out of control about something or another, he remembered now, this had been one of those days. He knew what would come after he saw the name, and prepared himself to stop the recording just as soon as he had it. 

He cringed as he watched his younger self lean over and grab the notebook.

“Hey, kid. What the fuck?” Mr. Stark had snapped, at the time, Peter had felt so hurt by this, but watching it now, he could kind of understand why he had been so angry.

Peter had laughed and stepped back, looking down at the notebook, just as Mr. Stark began to raise his voice, he paused the video, reading the notepad. 

“Baby names.” Current Peter read from the video. 

Three options had been scribbled down, one circled. Peter frowned a little curious, there was no way Pepper could have been pregnant when the list had been written. He shrugged away the thought and read the two crossed out names.

“Not Tony Stark Jnr.” He mumbled, reading out the name. “No, not Emily.”

He smiled, reading the circled name at the bottom of the list.

“Gotcha!” He cried. He lifted the mask away and typed the new password in: Morgan24

He hesitated for a second, hoping and praying that this was the right one. He pressed enter, and the screen turned green for a second. He wiped away any lingering tears, a smile forming on his face as he began to go through Mr. Starks private server, which contained all of the Stark Industries records for the last fifty years.

He quickly found the file he was looking for, the year 2001 under the weapons development category. He double clicked, and sucked in his breath as he saw hundreds of weapons files fill his screen. He had known that Mr. Stark had been called the merchant of death prior to his Iron Man days, and now, he could understand why. He clicked on the first one, opening the file. He read down, not going very far and stopping when he saw large red writing that said:

“Multiples stolen. Obadiah Stane suspected.’

Peter drew his eyebrows together and clicked out of the file, he clicked the next one, scrolling down and seeing the same text. File, after file he opened, each one having had multiples stolen or gone missing due to some form of company corruption or Obadiah Stane. Peter cringed, Mr. Stark really had had no control over his company at all, it was definitely a good thing Pepper had taken it over. But he was seeing a pattern, all of the weapons that he clicked on had at least some form of theft reported, he opened another year, and then another, the pattern repeating itself until Mr. Stark had shut down weapons development in 2008. He frowned a little, that meant that whatever weapons had been used must have been stolen prior to 2008. He couldn’t make sense of it, either someone had a supplier, or, they had stashed the weapons for over ten years.


	5. Unresolved Tensions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading so far! 
> 
> I will be going back to work tomorrow so my posting will slow down a little. I really enjoy writing though so I'm hoping to continue making my way through this story.
> 
> I hope you're enjoying it and I look forward to sharing more with you over the coming week!

May stood in the hospital waiting room, the rooms where absolutely full, and they were out of beds. There was a summer flu going around, mixed in with the recent terrorist attacks, and a rampant outbreak of food poisoning. She had unwillingly left Peter alone in the apartment that morning, having been called into to work just after six a.m. She had ducked her head in his room and found him asleep at his desk, head in his keyboard. Part of her had panicked a little, knowing that Peter probably hadn’t slept, but another part of her told her to trust him. He was going to go off to college soon and she wouldn’t be there to monitor his every move.

She allowed herself a two-minute break at the nurses station, walking around behind the desk to sit down. She turned to the little T.V in the corner and saw a re-run of friends playing. He smiled as she massaged her aching legs for a second, laughing slightly at one of the jokes. Suddenly the screen went white. She frowned, looking up at the main tv in the hospital waiting area, it had turned white also, the volume faded and became only white noise for a second on both T.Vs. 

Suddenly, a body appeared, it’s face blurred out. She leaned forward and turned the volume up, her brows creased.

“Ladies and Gentleman of New York.” The distorted voice began. “I am sorry to take over your viewings, but I’m afraid I need something from you.”

May listened as the people in the waiting area became still and quiet, fear coursing through them.

“I apologise for blowing up a city block,” The voce said. May felt herself flush with anger, this was the man who nearly killed Peter! “But I’m afraid there is one among you who is a far bigger killer than I.”

In that moment, an image of Tony Stark popped up onto the screen.

“This man, you praise as a hero!” The voice spat, “But, you have forgotten his past. He is the greatest mass murderer in history.”

The people in the room began to murmur. 

“I now address him: Mr. Stark, hand over the nano suit, your ultimate weapon, and we will leave you and your family, in peace.” The voice paused, “If you do not comply, this attack will only be the first of many.”

There was silence, then friends came back on. The room exploded with noise, those who were not so sick leaving, wanting to get home to their loved ones, the too sick starting to panic. 

May stood up, and despite her loathing for the man, lifted up a small prayer for Tony Stark.

 

Peter’s head snapped up when he heard a pounding at the front door. He blinked for a moment and then rubbed his eyes, looking at the time on his laptop, 7:30am. He had been asleep for nearly two hours, he frowned as he heard the pounding continue. Not wanting to leave the laptop unattended in his room while logged into the Stark server, he picked it up and carried it with him into the lounge room, still dressed in his pyjamas. Whoever was at the door pounded again. 

“I’m coming!” He yelled, placing the laptop on the kitchen bench.

He reached the door, and not bothering to check who it was, swung it open quickly.

“What?” he grumped at whoever was waking him up so early, slouching slightly against the door frame.

His eyes widened as he stood at eye level with Mr. Stark who stood in the hallway in an expensive Tom Ford suit. He realised that he must have had a growth spurt in the last year because he distinctly remembered being shorter than the man. Mr. Stark seemed to have had the same realisation, giving Peter an up and down look. Finally, Peter gave him direct eye contact, pushing aside the bitter sweet memories he had watched earlier in the morning.

“What, uh, what are you doing here?” He asked, trying to sound as fierce as he could, hiding the shaking in his voice.

Mr. Stark’s eyes narrowed slightly and Peter was reminded quickly that Mr. Starks real super power was his glare. 

“You’ve got something of mine.” Was all he said as he crossed his arms and maintained Peter’s eye contact.

Peter crossed his arms back, standing up from the door frame more fully and just slightly looking down at Mr. Stark. He shook his head.

“I, uh, have no idea what you’re talking about.” He lied with a slight shrug.

Mr. Starks eyes somehow narrowed further and he barged forward, somehow shoving past Peter and walking into the apartment. He began to look under cushions on the couch.

“Don’t be stupid kid. I know you’ve got it, just tell me where it is, or better yet, give it to me.” He snapped, lifting up one of May’s books.

Peter gulped slightly, this was not at all the type of reconciliation he had dared to hope for, even only in his wildest dreams.

He threw up a hand.

“I’m not sure…” He trailed off as Mr. Stark stormed out of the living room and invaded his bedroom, he panicked, knowing that the bomb piece was sitting on his desk. “Hey! You can’t go in there!” He called, following the man in. 

He was too late, he walked through the door just in time to see Mr. Stark scowl and pick up the side of the bomb. He panicked slightly as Mr. Starks gaze fell on the Spider-Man mask on the floor before snapping up to meet his.

“You and I need to have a little chat.” He said and brushed past Peter into the living room. 

Peter sighed, and picked up the mask off of the floor, playing with it slightly, but then panicked again, remembering the open laptop.

“Wa-wait!” He cried. Too late once again, Mr. Stark had stopped in front of his laptop and wiggled the mouse a little, removing the screen saver and showing the Stark server.

He gulped as Mr. Starks gaze went from the screen and onto him. He could fell chills of fear entering his body under his violent stare.

Mr. Stark slammed the lid of the laptop down so hard that Peter was sure the screen would be cracked. He picked up the laptop and shoved it under his arm, his jaw tightening a little. Peter walked a little further into the room, holding out his hands as a sign of peace. 

“Mr. Stark, I- I can explain.” He hurried, but stopped himself when the older man’s gaze did not soften.

He pushed himself forward and sunk into a kitchen stool near where Mr. Stark stood. Mr. Stark took two steps forward and slammed the laptop down on the counter and slapped the bomb piece down on top. He looked angrier than Peter had ever seen him, he could see the muscles in his jaw working and a little vein popping in his forehead. There was a tense silence and Mr. Stark appeared to be making no moves to break it, so Peter cleared his throat, fidgeting with the mask.

“So, um. You uh, you’re a dad now?” He asked, somehow hoping it would break the tension.

It didn’t. Peter thought he saw actual flames in Mr. Starks eyes.

“How’d you figure out the password to my server?” Mr. Stark suddenly asked. “We haven’t told anyone that name.”

Peter felt a wave of shame wash over him, realising he’d just taken advantage of the private moments Mr. Stark had let him in on and used them to hack into his company.

“Oh, I just, you know, remembered you mentioning it once…” He allowed his voice to trail off, not quite able to keep the man’s gaze.

Mr. Stark’s brow creased as his eyes studied Peter’s face for a moment, and then flickered down to the mask he held in his hands.

“Friday, show me what Peter used the mask for most recently.” He said as he took a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on.

Peter took fast breaths as he saw the three results come up on Mr. Starks glasses, and the search title, written backwards: Mr. Stark baby names. 

Mr. Starks eye flickered between the still frames of each video, freezing on the last one before his eyes snapped back to Peter. He snatched the glasses off of his face and took deep breaths, his chest heaving a little.

“I trusted you with those moments.” He said dangerously low, “And you go and use them to sneak around behind my back and break into my company so that you can do what exactly?”

Peter felt his breath quicken, the last time he’d heard Mr. Stark speak in that tone he’d watched Cap get an absolute verbal beat down. He realised now that he would not be excluded from receiving one and braced himself for the worst, rushing to explain himself before it began.

“I-I just felt so guilty!” He said quickly, a little relieved to see Mr. Starks gaze soften just a tiny bit. He looked up at the man with wide eyes, “I saw them die, Mr. Stark, and I couldn’t do anything!” 

Mr. Stark dropped his eye contact for a moment, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a second. When he looked up, he no longer looked angry, just hurt. Somehow, that was worse. He seemed to take a second, eyes bouncing around the room while he gathered his thoughts. He stepped closer, no longer in a threatening manner.

“Pete.” He said, there was still an edge to his voice, but it had lost a lot of its earlier sting. ‘You aren’t responsible for this. There was nothing anyone could have done, much less you.”

Peter just looked at the man, some odd mixture of relief and frustration filling him. 

“Look,” Mr. Stark continued, his voice a little more business-like, “I saw you steal the evidence last night.”

Peter took a dep breath and bit the inside of his cheek.

“Pete.” Mr. Stark said, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned forward into his personal space, “You can’t do that. I was up all of last night looking for this one piece. And if they catch you, well, you would go to prison. Not even I could get you out of that one.” He implored. 

Peter lowered his head and nodded, looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

“Are you?” Mr. Stark asked, a little sadness in his voice.

Peter looked up at him, but made no response. Mr. stark seemed to let out a sad sigh and ran his hand through his hair, wedding band catching in the morning light as he did. 

“Why were you looking through my server at four a.m this morning?” He asked quietly.

Peter looked off to the side, clenching his jaw a little.

“I saw the inscription on the inside of the bomb piece. And I just thought I would check, and you know.”

Mr. Stark’s brow creased further.

“Peter. Did you think I placed that bomb?” He asked slightly taken aback.

“What? No, no, no, no.” He quickly said, “I just wanted to know when whoever did this got the bombs.”

Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow.

“What did you find, Peter? I mean, I could have just told you but I’d be curious to hear it from you since you managed to lock me out of my own server all night.” He asked with a little bit of a bite to his voice.

Peter winced slightly.

“Just that, uh, most of the weapons had been sold off under the table or stolen by Obadiah Stane.”

Mr. Stark just nodded and looked at the boy. Peter finally looked back at him and for a second, he felt as though the two of them were okay. The moment didn’t last.

“Why didn’t you call me back, Pete?” Mr. Stark asked, his hurt showing all over his face.

Peter looked down and shrugged, not sure he could possibly explain his reasoning. 

“Why did you put the inscription on the bomb?” Peter asked, knowing that it would fire Mr. Stark up, but needing to understand.

Mr. Stark visibly stumbled back, looking as though he’d been slapped. He took a few deep breaths before speaking in a sharp tone.

“Because I was young and incredibly stupid.” His eyes began to harden once again. “Pete, please. I already received a death threat this morning from our lovely terrorist. I really don’t have the energy to argue with you.”

Pete looked at him quizzically.

“The bomber threatened you?”

“Yeah, look. Not the point.” Mr. Stark said, getting to the point. “Pete, I know you want to help on this one. I get it, your friends were hurt. But please, for the love of all that is good and pure, please stay away!”

Peter just looked at him.

“You know I can’t do that.” He said quietly.

“Please, Peter.” Mr. Stark almost pleaded. “This guy is coming for my family, and even if you don’t feel it and even though we haven’t been on the best terms for the last year, that still includes you. And I just-” he cut himself off as he seemed to choke a little. He cleared his throat and continued. “You still mean a lot to me and Pepper.” He finally said. 

Peter felt his breath fail him for a second when he heard Mr. Stark’s words. But he just knew that he couldn’t stand back and allow this man to hurt anyone else.

“I can’t.”

“Then please at least promise me you won’t go after this guy. Just, you know, look out for the little people. Stay out of the way of the investigation.” Mr. Stark asked of him, his eyes wide.

Peter opened his mouth a little, then shook his head, lowering his gaze.

“I can’t promise you that.” He finally said.

He didn’t see the way Mr. Stark closed his eyes in disappointment.

“Okay then” Mr. Stark said, a little too briskly and business like. Peter looked up at him as he continued. “Then just stay out of my way.”

Peter knew he had only said that to hurt him, to cover his own pain, but it didn’t make it any less painful to hear. He watched as Mr. Stark picked up his laptop and the piece of bomb, and walked out of the front door, closing it behind him and leaving Peter slouching on the stool.


	6. May Day

Tony sat in front of his computer, hiding away in the lab at the tower and desperately hoping to be left alone. He wouldn’t have called it sulking, but that’s exactly what he had been doing since he’d arrived back from Peter’s apartment. After he’d parked he’d come straight to the lab, placing the laptop in the kid’s old work bench, not really intending to do anything with it other than delete the server from it. But he’d been putting it off, firstly, he’d started on some paperwork for the company, then he’d answered emails, he’d even taken a few calls from the board, but now he sat sulking in his computer chair, not even looking at his computer, just playing with his wedding band and staring into thin air. He finally lifted his head to a small knock at the glass door, and felt his first smile of the day pull at his mouth as Pepper walked in with a sleeping Morgan in her arms. He stood to greet them as she walked over to his bench, planting gentle kisses on their cheeks before sitting down in his chair again. He noticed Pepper’s frown. 

“You didn’t come to bed, Tony.” She said, holding the baby a little tighter.

He leaned forward, letting out a small sigh, looking up at her and shaking his head a little.

“Pep, I’m sorry.” He said gently, but hurried to explain himself in a soft tone “Just the explosion and then the FBI called.” He hesitated, deciding not to remind her of the bombers message this morning.

He saw the look that fell over her face and he couldn’t look at that, so he let his gaze drop to the ground.

“Tony, it’s okay.” She said just as gently, walking closer to him, the baby still sleeping comfortably in her arms. He looked up at her, surprised. “I understand. I guess, I just hoped that all of this stuff would have stopped happening to us since you retired the suits.”

He cringed a little and looked back at the ground, dropping his head into his hands.

“Pep, I’m so sorry. I should have come home.” He said, his voice muffled by his hands.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and looked back up at her. When she held his gaze, he leaned back in the seat as she moved to settle into his lap. He rested one arm on the arm rest and gently wrapped the other around her shoulder, holding both of his girls. He felt himself smile a little at the thought. Looking down at little Morgan, he felt his heart fill with a fierce emotion, one he had always thought only Pepper could stir in him, but, now looking down at his daughter, he knew there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep her safe. They sat there in comfortable silence for a moment, Pepper’s head on his shoulder.

“Did you go to see Peter?” She finally asked, looking up at him slightly.

He felt his jaw tighten a little, and nodded slightly, his gaze still on Morgan.

“He hacked into the company server, Pep.” He said a little sternly, she gave him an odd look. “He went to the bombing sight and stole some evidence, then went on the weapons server to find out how the bomber got it.”

She let out a small sigh, her face falling at the way Tony had spoken about the kid. 

“He’s just trying to help.” She offered quietly.

He glanced down at her, a little hardness in his eyes.

“He’s trying to get himself killed!” He whispered harshly, keeping his voice low so that the baby wouldn’t wake. 

Pepper just closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Tony, you used to be exactly the same.” She said, watching as he raised an eyebrow, “You would have done, and still would do, anything to protect me and Morgan.”

“Yes, but that’s different, Pepper. He’s just a kid!”

Pepper sat up straighter in his lap, turning to face him as far as the awkward angle would allow.

“Peter’s not a kid anymore, Tony.” She said, her voice still quiet, but a little bit of a defensive edge coming to it. 

He stared at her, eyes wide in disbelieve, he let out a small, dramatic huff.

“You’re taking his side?”

Pepper narrowed her eyes, a little confused, then let out her own dramatic sigh and stood up from his lap, adjusting the baby so she was cradled against her shoulder. She turned to face him before continuing.

“Tony, this isn’t about taking sides. I’m just saying that maybe you should try and understand his point of view.”

“I do understand his point of view.” Tony said quickly in defence. 

She shook her head, a little exasperated before letting out a breath.

“Look, we’ve already had this discussion about a million times over the last year.” She said.

He rolled his eyes a little as she spoke, knowing exactly where she was headed with the conversation.

“Pepper, please, it’s been a stressful-“

“Nah, ah.” She said, interrupting him, “You don’t get to pull that shit with me.”

He simply looked up at her with wide eyes. 

“Language.” He muttered, and attempted to give her a cheeky grin, hoping she would drop the subject. She ignored his comment, rolling her eyes as she powered on. 

“Tony, please. Just trust me on this one.” She said softly, her hand moving to gently stroke Morgan’s small head, “Include Peter in just one thing that you’re doing for the case, even if it’s just doing some work here in the lab, or get him to do surveillance, just, make him feel included. I promise you, it will help.” 

He shook his head, not quite believing her.

“Pep, if I start including him he’ll think it’s okay to go and put himself in danger again.”

“Tony, be serious!” She exclaimed quietly, mindful of the baby, “He’s going to do those things regardless of whether or not you’re there!”

Tony stood up from his chair quickly, and walked towards Pepper. This was not at all done in a threatening manner, but almost as a plea for her to see his side.

“Pepper,” He said gently, placing a hand on her upper arm, his eyes searching hers, “I can’t do that. You know why I can’t”

She looked at him with wide eyes of her own, a little disappointment hidden in them.

“Okay,” She finally said after a moment, before adding a final plea. “Just promise me you won’t be too hard on him if you see him out as Spider-Man.”

He let out a huff and looked about the room for a second before dropping his gaze back to her. He gave her a small nod.

She received this with a smile, and something akin to a comfortable silence fell between them.

“Well then,” She began, her tone a little brighter than a few moments ago, he gave her a curious smile as to the change of tone. “Since you didn’t come to bed last night, I spent the whole night waiting for Morgan to start crying for food, so, you get to spend the rest of the morning with her while I take a nap.”

She took the child from her shoulder and held her out for Tony to take. Instinctively, he held out his hands, receiving his daughter and cradling her to his own shoulder.

“Wait, what about me?” He asked, sounding a little offended, “I didn’t get to sleep last night either.”

She chuckled slightly and began to walk towards the lab door, he turned to watch her leave.

“You didn’t push a baby out of you a few days ago.”

“I was working!” He called after her as she waved to him through the glass walls and entered the lift.

He sighed and looked at the small girl sleeping on his shoulder and let out a small chuckle at Pepper’s antics.

“You get me, right?” He asked, cradling her head with his left hand, she made no response, “I’m taking your silence as a yes.”

She stirred a little, and Tony felt his heart melt just a little as she grabbed the collar of his button up shirt and let out a massive yawn. He let out a little chuckle and smiled at her.

“Come on, back to work.” He whispered to her, planting a little kiss on her head and walking back over to his chair. 

He paused before he sat down, and looked back across the room to Peter’s old desk, the laptop still sitting on it. He sighed a little, he needed to get it over with. He walked over to the boys work bench and sat down in the stool that Peter had usually used, Morgan still contentedly leaning on his shoulder. He gave her another kiss as he reached out and opened the laptop. He frowned when he was met with a log in screen. 

“Looks like we’ll have to cheat our way in.” He said to the baby. “Wanna break into someone’s laptop with me?”

He had to chuckle again as the baby made no response.

“You don’t care, do you? You just want sleep and milk.”

He got up off of the stool and walked as gently as he could back to his desk, and grabbed a USB shaped encryption key from there. He walked back over to Peter’s work bench, putting a little bounce into his step to comfort the baby. He sat down again and shoved the key into the USB port, and watched as the screen automatically unlocked, allowing him access. He frowned, he would have to install better security on the laptop before he gave it back to the kid. 

The baby fussed slightly on his shoulder.

“Sh, sh. Daddy’s got you.” He whispered to her, patting her back lightly as she settled down.

He looked back at the screen, frowning as he saw the hand-written code Peter had used to break into the server. He knew that Peter was smart, but he also knew that the code would have taken him a good amount of time to write. 

“Friday, delete any files on the kid’s laptop that have any connection to Stark Industries.”

“Yes, boss.” She replied, the key flashed a little, showing that Friday was at work.

He let out a small huff as he watched the files being deleted. He allowed his mind to drift a little to earlier that morning. He had gone to Peter’s apartment to gently ask the boy about the previous night, but had basically spent the whole time either snapping at the kid or begging with him. He frowned a little, he had hoped that he and Peter could have come to some sort of common ground, but the kid had held his own, refusing to back away, even if it was for his own safety! Tony shook his head slightly at the thought. Out of all of this, the one, most surprising thing he had noticed, was how tall Peter had grown in only a year, and he had missed it!

A small beep sounded from the key.

“Files deleted.” Friday announced.

He let out another small sigh and gently shut the lid. 

 

May stood in a large hospital room containing many smaller, curtained rooms. She walked towards one of the white curtains at the centre of the room and pushed it open, smiling brightly at the young patient in the bed. 

“Hey, Maxy.” She said, happy to see her current favourite patient.

Little Max had been injured in a car crash a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, his parents had not survived, but a close family member had stepped up, offering to take the boy in. She felt a special bond with the small boy, he reminded her an awful lot of Peter. 

The boy grinned back at her from where he sat in the middle of the bed, playing with a puzzle, an IV sticking out of his arm. He looked so tiny sitting there.

“Nurse May!” He exclaimed, his freckled face lighting up adorably as she walked in. “I didn’t see you yesterday.” He added with a little frown.

She chuckled at sat at the edge of the bed.

“I had to look after my own little boy yesterday.” She softly, still smiling at the young child.

He grinned up at her.

“Want to help me with my puzzle?” He asked.

She shook her head.

“I can’t right now, Maxy. I just wanted to check in on you.” She said, a little sad that she wouldn’t be able to play with him. 

His smile fell once again, and she reached forward to ruffle his curls a little.

“Tell you what, Maxy. I’ll come back later and we can finish it together. How does that sound?”

He seemed to think for a moment, before slowly nodding his head.

“Okay. But only if you promise.”

She laughed slightly.

“Of course. I promise!” She agreed, standing up from the bed. “I’ll see you later, Maxy!”

His grin returned to his face.

“Okay. Bye nurse May!”

She turned and left the room, her spirits lifted from just a few moments with the young boy. She would have to remember to tell Peter about him, or even have Peter come as Spider-Man and surprise the boy! She smiled wider as she walked through the busy hallways and towards the ward she was supposed to be in. She was so proud of Peter, he had grown up so well to become a strong young man, so resilient and brave! 

She walked faster, noticing that she was running a few minutes behind. She hated being late. Suddenly, something odd seemed to happen. There was a loud boom and the hospital floor seemed to shake. Everyone around her seemed to stop, unsure of what was happening. She looked around, taking deep breaths, she saw the nurses at the station, each of them sharing looks of terror and panic. Another boom sounded, this time, it was closer, causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground as she felt and saw the building shake around her. She listened, and she could hear the sounds of screaming coming from down the hall. 

It came to her suddenly as she realised what this meant, she jumped to her feet, and without a second thought to her own safety, ran as fast as she could towards the ward she had just come from, her mind on the little boy who probably sat scared and alone on his bed. She made it to the swinging doors when suddenly another explosion sounded. She looked to her left and saw the fire coming straight for her, but felt a force sweep her off of her feet and slam her into a wall as the world around her went black.


	7. Catastrophe

Peter stood before the burning hospital, watching in horror as walls and metal beams seemed to be collapsing inside. He had been sitting on a small high rise a few blocks away in his Spider-Man suit when the explosion had sounded. To his horror, he had discovered that it was in fact the very same hospital May had left for earlier this morning. He surveyed the scene, the fire fighters and police were still on their way, the ambulances a little further since they came from other hospitals. He could hear their sirens in the distance, but he knew they would not get there in time. 

He ran as close as he could to the burning building and pulled back his mask, trying to see clearer through the smoke and debris.

“May!” He called. 

He saw a small clearing in the smoke, and walked slightly into the building through a knocked down wall. He looked around, and felt the bile rise in his throat as he saw dead bodies around him. His heart began to pound in his chest, he shoved the mask back on.

“May?” He screamed. “May? I’m here! It’s Peter!”

He rushed forward, scrambling his way through the still burning building.

He heard someone moan near him, turning, he saw a young boy with a metal beam over his leg. His heart almost stopped as he saw a dark-haired woman lying next to him, dead. 

“H-Hey kid.” He said softly, reaching forward, his eyes flickering between the kid and the woman. 

“Spider-Man?” The kid mumbled, his eyes not quite focusing.

“Yeah, buddy. I’m gonna get you out of here.” He said.

He reached forward and lifted the metal beam with one arm, and dragged the small boy out with his other. He looked at the woman again, and, after several moments of hesitation, turned her over so he could see her face. He let out a huge breath as he did not recognise the face, relief filling his chest. He immediately felt guilty, knowing that this was someone’s family or close friend. He pushed the thought away, and turned, scooping the boy up into his arms, he stumbled back to the opening in the wall and out onto the grass. He pushed forward until he was several hundred meters away from the building, and placed the boy on the ground.

“You alright if I leave you here for a bit?” He asked, already anxious to get back in and find May.

The boy nodded slightly.

Peter hesitated for one second, before sprinting back into the building. He saw through a different hole, blue and red lights flashing against the sunlit wall. He ignored them, and pushed himself further into the building.

“May!” He screamed again. “May, where are you?”

He looked around, his breath quickening as he saw more injured, and many others dead.

“May! Where are you?” He screamed, his voice cracking as tears threatened to fall.

He pushed forward, looking at faces, promising to come back to those who were injured, gasping for air as he began to fell a panic attack coming on.

“May, please! Where are you? Answer me! Please, May!” He screamed. 

He saw a huge slab of concrete on the ground ahead of him, and heard some low moans coming from it. He rushed forward, even if May wasn’t under there, he needed to at least get the concrete off of the wounded survivors. 

“Hold on, guys.” He said quickly.

Crouching down, he grabbed the edge of the concrete slab, and pushed up with his knees, lifting the thing with slight effort. He held it up, looking down at the two or three people who had been trapped underneath. He felt his heart ease slightly.

“May!” He exclaimed, and put the slab down in a space that was free of people, before rushing forward to his aunt. 

She looked up at him, slightly dazed, a nasty gash across her forehead, and a dark red patch on her leg. She was covered in dirt and other scratches.

“Peter?” She asked, disbelief in her voice.

“May, yes. I’m here, we need to get you out.” He rushed, crouching next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders and his other under her legs.

“Get the others first.” She said weakly.

“No, no, no. I’m not losing you.” He said, lifting her in his arms.

“The others!” She exclaimed weakly as he sped back to the hole in the wall.

“I’ll go back.” He promised. 

She seemed to take a few deep breaths before she went limp in his arms, he rushed forward to the hole and sprinted across the field, seeing that the ambulances had finally arrived. He went to the closest one, seeing the EMT’s already running to meet him. He held back a little surprise, recognising the old man who met him.

“Hey, hey!” He said, as he came close, gently laying his aunt on the stretcher, “Please look after her. Please.”

He could hear the tears in his voice. 

One of the EMT’s had turned to wheel May away to the waiting ambulance, the old man stood before him, and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“You know her?” He asked.

It took Peter a moment, before he realised he was in his Spider-Man outfit, that woman could have been anyone for all the old man knew.

He nodded despite himself.

“M-my aunt.” He said, tears threatening to spill again. “Please, she’s all I have.”

He saw a soft look cross the old man’s face.

“Do you want to ride with us?” He asked softly.

Peter hesitated, he desperately wanted to ride with May, but he had promised her he would go back for the others. He shook his head.

“There are others!” He said, and turned to walk back. 

The old man raised an eyebrow, having heard a similar thing from a kid just a few days ago. 

“Hey, kid!” He called.

Peter paused, and turned to face him, then walked back towards him slightly.

The old man studied his mask for a second before speaking.

“Don’t blame yourself for what’s happened. You can only save the ones you can. We’ll take good care of your aunt.” He said.

Peter nodded, and mumbled his thanks, before sprinting back to the building. 

He spent the remainder of the day helping pull the survivors out of the building, he didn’t even question it, he had made a promise to May. 

 

Night time came quickly, and with the added strength of Spider-Man on their side, they had the hospital completely emptied of survivors and bodies by the time nine p.m came around. Peter sat alone on the grass, his Spider-Man outfit still on as he hugged his knees. The ambulances had finally all left, and the FBI had replaced their presence. He had spent nearly twelve hours lifting injured patients and even a few dead bodies, and he wasn’t ready to deal with the rest of the world just yet. A few police officers, and even a few FBI agents had come over to check on him, one had even wrapped a blanket over his shoulders as he sat, staring at the grass in front of him. After that, he had moved away from the crowd, he could still hear every little thing thanks to his finally recovered enhanced hearing, but he was now sheltered from view by a few trees on the outskirts of the grass. He stared at the grass, he didn’t notice when a black Mercedes pulled up behind him. He didn’t react when he heard the door shut and the agents talking quickly and quietly with whoever had just arrived, their actions hidden from him by the trees he hid behind. He barely even noticed when someone walked over to his hiding place and sat down next to him on the grass. But he did notice when they spoke.

“You okay, kid?” Mr. Stark asked.

Peter pulled off his mask in response, allowing Mr. Stark to see his tear streaked and dirty face.

“How’d you find me?” He asked, softly, still not looking away from the grass.

He pulled some glasses off of his face, Peter turned slightly, looking at the high-tech spectacles.

“Friday told me.” He said quietly. “Don’t worry, no one else can see you.” 

Peter nodded slightly, his gaze going back to the grass. A long silence fell between them.

“Peter.” Mr. Stark began, his voice quite low, “This is the kind of thing I was hoping you would never have to see.”

Peter snapped his head up, he wasn’t sure what to think, and a feeling of pure anger mixed with a form of longing just to be with Mr. Stark mingled together. He pushed himself up to his feet, not really wanting to have the conversation right now. Mr. Stark looked up at him, looking a little helpless. Peter couldn’t help but pity the man, and so he chose not to walk away, but rather, stay and give Mr. Stark another chance. 

Mr. Stark sighed, and pushed himself to his feet, grunting slightly as he did and brushing leaves off of his suit, the same suit he had worn that morning to berate Peter at his apartment. Peter crossed his arms over his chest and Mr. Stark shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Are you hurt?” Mr. Stark asked gently.

Peter stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head slightly.

“No.” He muttered.

He didn’t miss the way Mr. Starks face seemed to relax a little and his shoulders seemed to un-tense. The man stepped a little closer and Peter stood his ground, staring at the man.

“Pete-“ He began.

Peter sensed where this was going, and he felt something like white hot rage fly through him.

“May was in there.” He snapped, cutting Mr. Stark off. 

Mr. Starks eyes widened, and he stepped closer, taking his hands out of his pockets and putting a hand on Peters shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Pete.” He said, seeming to really mean it, “Is she okay?”  
Peter felt his chest constrict, and the tears began to fill his eyes again.

“I-I don’t know.” He admitted.

Mr. Stark looked up at him slightly, his eyes filling with worry.

“I put her in an ambulance, a-and they took her away.” He said, his tears beginning to fall.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Mr. Stark said, his hands coming to Peters arms. “It’s going to be okay, I’ll get Friday to check.”

Peter nodded slightly, then lowered his head and screwed his eyes closed as a soft sob escaped him, the horrors of the day finally catching up with him as he thought of May.

He felt Mr. Starks arms come around him, and without even thinking, he returned the hug, clinging tightly to the older man and he sobbed on his shoulder. 

They stood like that for several minutes, Mr. Stark rubbing his back slightly and him just sobbing into his shoulder. Finally, his sobs subsided and he pushed himself back, wiping his eyes and taking shaky breaths. 

He felt Mr. Stark squeeze his arm slightly.

“Pete, go and be with your aunt. She’s at the same hospital Ned and MJ are at. She’s conscious.” He said.

Peter nodded, assuming that Friday had fed the information into his ear piece while he had been crying. He hesitated for a moment, about to speak when someone called out.

“Tony, we found something, we need you!” They called loudly from the building, not able to see the two men, but knowing vaguely where Mr. Stark had gone. 

Mr. Stark sighed and ran his hand over his face.

“It’s okay, I’ll, uh, go to aunt May.” Peter said.

Mr. Stark hesitated for a second, before nodding.

“You sure you’ll be okay? He asked.

Peter nodded.

Mr. Stark looked at him for a second, before he turned and walked out of the tree line and towards the building.

“What is it?” He heard Mr. Stark call out as he walked briskly away. 

Peter turned, ready to make his way toward May, but he felt something, something off. Looking back, he saw Mr. Stark about the enter the building, another FBI agent was gesturing to something in the building. He narrowed his eyes, and put his mask back on. Slowly, he crept back towards the building, not entirely sure Mr. Stark was safe.


	8. The Final Blow

Peter knew his senses never betrayed him, and so the moment something set them off, he would dive into action. And right now, as he ran over to the hole in the wall that Mr. Stark had just walked through, he knew that regardless of what the older man thought, he was doing the right thing. He paused outside the hole, looking around at the night sky, his ears picking up a slight buzzing sound.

“Hey Karen.” He said, “Is there a drone up there?”

He waited a second, then the screen on his mask zoomed in, showing a little drone high above them in the night sky.

“Yes, Peter. I believe that this is ‘Benson 1’.” Karen affirmed. 

“Is it recording?” He asked, a little irritation filling him at the thought of Mr. Stark watching over him.

“Yes, Peter. But it is not currently sending out information, simply collecting data.” Karen assured him.

“You think Mr. Stark has it just to watch me?”

“I don’t know, Peter.” Karen admitted, an almost whist fall sound in her voice. 

Peter shook his head a little, deciding to let the issue go. Mr. Stark wouldn’t know he had followed him in if the drone wasn’t sending him a live feed. 

He entered through the hole and paused again, listening carefully, he could hear the sound of Mr. Starks voice a little further ahead, just out of eye sight behind a wall that had somehow remained standing. He was speaking with another agent. Peter listened carefully, picking his way through the rubble as quietly as he could, the darkened rooms doing little to slow him down.

“So,” The agents voice said, a little muffled by the wall separating them, “Why didn’t this one go off?”

Peter sucked in a breath, realising what they were talking about. There was another bomb! He pushed himself to pick through the rubble faster, eager to be as close to the two men as possible, just in case any thing happened. 

There was a long pause before Mr. Stark responded, but Peter could pick out the sounds of someone walking in circles, probably Mr. Stark circling the bomb. 

“Is it faulty?” The agent pressed, clearly a little nervous.

He heard Mr. Stark sigh a little.

“No, unfortunately I never made faulty weapons.” He admitted, but his voice sounded strained, as though he was deep in thought.

Peter finally arrived behind the wall, he needed to be able to see the two, so he ducked across a small opening and crouched behind some concrete slabs that had fell from the roof. He felt himself getting a little nervous once he saw the situation for himself. The room was the farthest away from the other bombs and at the centre, lit only by the torches the men held, sat a small, round, bomb with the Stark Industries logo on it. Mr. Stark was crouched next to it, his hand on his chin as he appeared to be in deep concentration.

“Okay.” The agent said, “Well, we should probably get out of here, get bomb squad in.”

Mr. Stark looked up at the agent suddenly, as though he had forgotten the other man was even in the room.

“Aha, okay.” He said quickly, the stood up, still looking down at the bomb.

The other man had already walked to the end of the room, ready to pick his way through the rubble. He looked back at Mr. Stark.

“Stark, you coming?” He sounded tense.

“You go ahead. I don’t think this thing will blow. It’s not rigged correctly.” He said distractedly.

The agent hesitated for a moment.

“Okay, you’re the expert. But I’ll be back with the squad soon, so don’t touch that thing!” The agent turned and picked his way quickly through the rubble. Peter heard him yell out to the team as soon as he passed the hole in the wall.

Peter fixed his eyes back on Mr. Stark as the man once again crouched next to the bomb. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out his glasses touched the side of the bomb lightly with his finger.

“Looks like someone put you in here after the other’s exploded.” He seemed to say only to himself.

“Friday.” He said quietly, “Tell me what I’m looking at, why is wired incorrectly. Tampering?”

Peter strained his ears, trying to hear Friday’s response in his ear piece, he could just make it out.

“Looks like whoever placed it rewired it to be remotely detonated.” Friday replied.

Peter saw something cross Mr. Starks face, something that was close to panic and fear. He inched closer and found himself on in toes, ready to pounce forward.

“You’re an idiot, Tony.” The man said to himself, “Complete idiot.”

He seemed to shake himself slightly, but stood up, walking quickly to the edge of the room seeming to be headed out of the building. Peter heard his phone vibrate in his suit pocket, and watched as Mr. Stark pulled it out and held it to his ear.

“Stark.” He replied, pausing at the edge of the room, but looking back at the bomb, flashing the torch on it. 

“Mr. Stark.” Came a muffled voice.

Peter felt his heart start pounding, he shifted ever so slightly, inching closer to Mr. Stark.

He heard Mr. Stark let out a frightened breath. He frowned a little, he had never heard Mr. Stark sound scared before. The man recovered quickly.

“Who is this?” He asked.

“You’re currently looking at one of my presents.” The muffled voice continued. “Go a little closer, have a better look.” He enticed.

“I can see it fine from right here.” Mr. Stark replied, backing away slightly, looking for the life of him as though he was ready to flee. “How are you watching me?”

“Small camera to your right. I’m a little shocked you didn’t see it.” The muffled voice teased.

Mr. Stark looked to his right, Peter saw his glasses scanning the room before a small display zoomed in on something.

“I see it.” Mr. Stark replied, his foot inching back.

“Take another step back and I’ll blow you and your friend to kingdom come.” The voice said.

Peter felt his heart stop, the man had seen him through the camera. He felt his breath shake a little.

Mr. Stark looked confused for a moment.

“What friend? I’m here alone. Ricky went outsi….” His voice trailed off and he seemed to take a few deep breaths. He brought a hand to his forehead and swore under his breath.

Peter shrunk back behind the concrete as Mr. Stark turned slightly, surveying the room, his torch flashing over Peter’s hiding place. He didn’t stop, and so Peter poked his head back up slightly, watching as Mr. Stark took a few shaky breaths, his eyes and torch back on the bomb.

“What do you want from me?” He demanded. 

“The nano weapons.” The muffled voice responded.

“No.” Mr. Stark said back as though it were that simple.

“You can either give them to me or I can take it from your corpse.” The voice said back.

Peter felt himself start to panic, he knew that Mr. Stark suspected his presence in the room, even though he had no evidence, he also knew that he needed to be ready to spring into action at any second. The man responded simply once again.

“No.”

“Okay, then I’ll be collecting it soon.” The voice said. The call ended and dial tone rang out.

Peter’s eyes caught something, a small red dot on the bomb had started flashing. He saw Mr. Stark had noticed it also and had shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“Friday, if that thing goes off, how many people will it kill?” He asked frantically.

“Mr. Stark!” Peter yelled, jumping up from his hiding spot.

“Two.” Friday replied as Mr. Stark turned and saw Peter sprinting toward him. His eyes were wide with shock and a little bit of anger.

“Peter! Get out of here!” He screamed, turning to make his own way out.

Peter heard something tick in the bomb just as he reached Mr. Stark, he ignored to older man’s pleas and grabbed his arm and threw the man over his shoulder, he shot out some webbing at the nearby wall and had begun to swing towards it when the bomb suddenly exploded. He felt the flames chasing him as he flew across the room. He reached the wall and smashed through it feet first only a second before the force of the bomb shattered it. He felt the webbing slacken, and he began his rough descent outside the hospital. He landed heavily and heard a groan on his shoulder. He ignored this and sprinted forward as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding flying debris as he made his way to the safety of the trees he had been in only minutes ago. Something hit his leg, and he felt himself stumble, pain shooting up, but he pushed on, grunting through it as he did. Finally, he arrived, he was out of breath, but finally safe, out of the way of the smoke, fire and debris. He ungraciously dropped Mr. Stark on the ground, not really looking at the man, but watching the remainder of the attacked hospital begin to go up in flames. He took a moment, still panting.

“You’re welcome.” He puffed out to Mr. Stark.

He had no response. He frowned and looked down at the man lying unceremoniously in the leaves, a nasty cut along his head, and unconscious. Peter felt his panic starting to rise once again.

“Oh, no, no, no.” He muttered quickly, wishing he could take back his earlier remark. He knelt beside the man, and placed a hand on his chest, relieved to feel a steady heart beat through the know ruined business suit. 

“Karen?” He asked.

“Mr. Stark is suffering from a mild head injury, the majority of it is the cut on his head.” Karen supplied.

“Th-then why isn’t he conscious?” He asked frantically.

Just as he said this, he saw the man screw his eyes together, and let out a sigh of relief as Mr. Stark blinked his eyes open, but he did not look focussed. He squinted up at Peter and took several deep breaths, seeming to gasp a little with each intake.

“Peter?” He slurred a little, still coming back to consciousness, lifting his head ever so slightly.

“I’m here.” Peter quickly supplied, his hand falling on Mr. Starks shoulder. He pushed his mask up so the man could see his face as he looked down on the man who had once been his mentor.

Mr. Stark let his head fall back into the grass, a small grunt of pain escaping him as he did.

“What the hell were you thinking?” He asked, sounding a little breathless.

Peter blinked rapidly and gaped down at the man, his mouth opened and closed uselessly. He was actually speechless! He took his hand off of Mr. Starks shoulder and rested it on his knee.

“You could have died.” Mr. Stark mumbled, eyes blinking slowly.

Peter took a few steadying breaths as he looked around, his anger returning to him. His eyes snapped back to Mr. Stark.

“I just saved your life!” He hissed.

Mr. Starks eyes snapped fully open, and he pushed himself up slightly so he rested on his elbows. He seemed to blink a few times, obviously pushing back some dizziness and pain.

“I told you to go.” He hissed back. “This wasn’t a game, that was a real bomb!”

Peter rolled his eyes, completely over it, and jumped up to his feet.

“You are unbelievable!” He cried.

Mr. Stark looked up at him with wide, angry eyes.

“Speak for yourself kid.”

“You just antagonized a bomber into detonating!” Peter exclaimed.

“And you just jumped into an explosion that could have killed you.” Mr. Stark yelled, struggling to sit up.

“You would be dead if I wasn’t there!” Peter yelled back coldly. 

Mr. Stark made no response, just continued to glare up at Peter.

Peter sighed angrily, glancing around him before finally making a choice.

“You know what. Fuck this.” He said, knowing very-well Mr. Stark hated it when he swore. He turned to face Mr. Stark again, he was still looking up at Peter with wide eyes, but Peter barely registered it, so far gone was he in his anger. “Fuck you and your arrogance and your need to control everyone in your life!” He cried, pausing slightly before powering on. “I saved your life and the only thing you care about is that I didn’t obey you?” he screamed, pointing slightly at the hospital they had just escaped, reminding the man of his near death.

“Peter-“ Mr. Stark began, a little softer.

“No!” He screamed, leaning over Mr. Stark a little, “I’m done! I’m done with you!”

He took a deep breath before he continued in a quieter tone, stepping back from where Mr. Stark sat.

“You know, I actually thought you would change your mind. For a second there, I thought you actually cared about me, but I was wrong, you only care about people doing what you tell them to do.” He spat. 

He saw Mr. Stark open his mouth to speak again, but he held up a finger to stop the man.

“Save it. I don’t want to hear it.”

He turned away, limping slightly as he did and shoved the mask back over his head, leaving Mr. Stark sitting alone in a pile of leaves. 

 

Tony stumbled towards his car and dropped down heavily into the driver's seat, closing the door behind him. After Peter had walked away, he had fallen back onto the ground and simply lay looking up at the darkened tree branches. He had had no major thoughts, his mind finally reaching a point of being overwhelmed. After a long while, he had pushed himself up on un-steady legs and headed toward where he parked. 

He saw a scanner rise up out of the dashboard and run over his head, he still felt dizzy.

“Friday, what’s the damage?” He asked, still slightly out of breath.

“Mild injuries, the cut on your head is the worst, but it looks like the bleeding has already stopped. You also have a small concussion.”

“Okay.” He breathed out. “Auto drive home, I can’t see well enough.” He said quietly.

“Benson 1 is still in the air.” Friday reminded him.

He groaned, and leaned on the door.

“Send him down.”

He opened the door slightly, and held out his hand as the small drone flew down, faithfully landing in his hand. He patted it absentmindedly, as though it were a pet, and fell back into his seat, the door closing behind him. 

“Okay, Auto drive home.” He repeated.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat, thankful he had thought to install the auto driving technology in all of his cars. He heard the engine start, but the car didn’t move, waiting for his verbal command to move forward and begin the drive home, a safety feature he had installed upon Pepper’s insistence. 

“Go.” He whispered, his voice a little chocked.

The car rolled forward as he placed Benson 1 in the passenger seat and pulled a small first aid kit out of the glove box. He hissed and winced as he applied the antiseptic. However, the small tear that rolled down his face had nothing to do with the cut on his head.


	9. A Little Push

Peter finally arrived outside of May’s hospital sometime after eleven. He’d come straight from his argument with Mr. Stark. After he’d gotten past the closed off blocks, he’d quickly swung up onto apartment buildings, flying through the city towards the hospital. But he hadn’t gone straight to her once he had arrived, instead, he’d sat on the edge of the roof for a little while, looking out at the city, trying to collect his thoughts and calm his mind. He was so angry; he was sure he’d never been this angry before in his life! He had held out a little hope that after he’d rescued Mr. Stark, the man would have at least thanked him! He let out a little huff and a small chuckle at the thought. He sat there for another hour, just watching the city lights and looking down as the ambulances and other cars drove in and out of the emergency entrance. Finally, he let out a deep breath and climbed down to the ground, using the side of the building so not to draw too much attention to himself. He walked around, sticking close to the edge and keeping his head down. He rounded the corner and walked briskly towards the entrance, only making it a few feet before someone interrupted him.

“Hey, kid!” A now familiar voice called from a few meters behind him.

Peter turned, a little curious. He watched as the old EMT walked towards him from an ambulance he had just passed, a little wary about the large, brown paper bag he carried in one hand.

“Hi.” Peter managed feebly. 

The old man stared at him for a second.

“Here to see your aunt?” He asked.

Peters eyes widened, a little taken aback.

“You don’t forget an interaction with the Spider-Man.” The old man clarified with a small smile and a chuckle.

Peter felt himself calm slightly, and looked down at his hands to remind himself he still wore the suit. He looked back up at the man.

“Yeah, uh. I got held up.” He said.

The old man nodded.

“You know, they only let family in to see patients.” He began, “Might be hard to identify yourself as family if you don’t take your mask off.”

Peter was silent for a second. He’d been hoping to sneak into May’s room, but the man had a point, he would’ve been discovered quickly.

“Oh, I, uh. I guess I didn’t think of that.”

The old man held out the paper bag, and Peter took it tentatively, holding back his surprise as he looked inside and saw some old clothes. They looked like they would fit him, maybe a little baggy. He shot his head back up to the old man.

“How did you..” He trailed off.

The old man shrugged and nodded back to the ambulance.

“After we dropped off your aunt I grabbed some clothes from my partner’s locker. I figured you’d come straight here. Besides, we only just finished for the night, so it wasn’t much of a wait for you to show up.”

Peter was speechless, this time, overwhelmed with gratitude.

“There’s no cameras ‘round the side of the building just past them there trees.” The old man said, vaguely pointing to some trees Peter had walked past. “I’ll be on my way home by the time you get back, so no need to worry ‘bout that mask.”

Peter nodded, a smile forming on his lips.

“Thank you!” He said, and rushed back to the trees, “Thank you so much!”

He saw the old man wave at him slightly, before he did as he said he would, he turned and walked towards the staff carpark. Peter jumped behind the trees and pressed the spider logo on his suit, allowing it to fall off of him. He quickly threw on the other clothes, they were slightly baggy on him, but they were the right length thanks to his growth spurt. He shoved spider suit back in the bag before he realised his second conundrum. He had no ID on him. He frowned, but decided to simply risk it. He left his place behind the trees and tucked the paper bag under his arm, walking briskly toward the front door, the old man no-where in sight. He walked through and saw the reception desk ahead. He smiled to himself, it was his lucky night, the computer sat unattended as all the nurses and even the receptionists where running frantically between patients, trying to fit in the newest attack victims, as well as their usual patients. He sat down at the computer and quickly found the search system for patients. He typed in her name and spotted the room number, his eyes quickly glancing around to make sure no one had noticed him. He jumped up and picked his way through the room, making his way to the lift. He felt a little guilty for using their system, but quickly forgot about it as the lift opened and he stepped in, quickly selecting the second floor. The lift rose quickly and he exited the moment it opened. He rushed down the hall, counting rooms as he did, frowning a little as he noticed that these were private rooms. He found the number, and hesitated before he knocked lightly and opened the door. Only one bed filled the room, and he frowned, a thought coming to his mind. He quickly pushed it back as he saw May sitting up on the hospital bed, looking quite tired with a bandage wrapped around her head.

“Peter!” She whispered with a smile.

He grinned back at her, a little forced, and ran a hand through his hair.

“Hey, May.” He said gently, walking slowly to the side of her bed.

He simply looked down at his aunt for a second before leaning forward and carefully embracing her. She returned his hug fiercely, surprising him a little.

“Did you get the others?” She asked, still holding him.

He nodded against his shoulder, a little uncomfortable at the awkward position, but not quite ready to let her go.

“Yeah, it took a while, but they’re all out.” He said, his voice catching a little as he avoided telling her of the dead bodies he had held in his arms. He pulled back to look at her and a short silence fell between them.

“Are you okay?” She asked gently.

He didn’t answer her, but felt an emotion swell in his chest, part of him just wanting to crawl into the bed next to her and cry about everything. As if sensing his desire, she moved over slightly and patted the bed next to her. He didn’t hesitate, he jumped in and sat next to her, slouching a little so his head rested on her shoulder. She ran a comforting hand through his hair.

“Want to tell me what happened?” She asked after a moment. He felt his brow crease, a little confused.

“What do you mean?” He asked, not sure which situation she was referring to.

She sighed.

“I got a message from Friday.” She said quietly, feeling Peter stiffen as she did, “It was over two hours ago. Tony said you were on your way to me.” She looked down at him slightly, “I’m guessing something stopped you.”

He frowned, he had no idea when Mr. Stark could have sent a message, but he didn’t ask, deciding on another instead.

“Did he pay for the room?” He asked, his voice a little firm.

He felt her nod, as she continued to stroke her hand through his hair. 

“What happened?”

He hesitated, before deciding to tell her the truth, she could see when he was lying anyway.

“He came as a consultant.” He began, “But he came and sat with me for a little bit before he went inside.”

He stared at the wall in front of him as he spoke, his ugly emotions waring in him as he struggled to keep his voice even.

“I was so freaked out, May. I cried and he even hugged me! Then, he needed to go into the building, but I-I just got this sense, so I followed him, and there was another bomb!” He was speaking quickly now, “It was about to explode so I pulled him out just as it did. An-and then we were outside and he was unconscious and I thought he was dead, but he wasn’t!” He spoke even quicker, stumbling over his words. “Then he didn’t thank me, May! He yelled at me for saving him!” He looked up at his aunt, his lip quivering a little. “An-and then I just lost it! I just screamed at him and then I-I just, oh, god, May, I just left him there!” He sobbed, wiping his tears away angrily. 

She shushed him gently, pulling him closer as he had rambled through his story, her hand continuing to stroke his head. He wrapped an arm around her and leaned against her.

“I’m sorry.” He mumbled.

She looked down at him.

“For what?” She asked gently.

He pulled back and looked up at her with wide, tearful eyes.

“For yelling at him.” He said.

May smiled a little and a laugh escaped her.

“Kind of sounds like he had it coming.” She said.

Peter smiled a little, seeing that she was not angry at him. He settled back against her shoulder.

“I’m glad you stood up for yourself, Peter.” She said, but paused, seeming to think about what it was she needed to say. “I think you need to have one last chat with him.” She said.

Peter drew back, and looked at his aunt, a frown firmly on his face.

“Why? I think I made myself very clear.”

She frowned a little and cupped his cheek in a motherly fashion. 

“Peter. I’m so happy that you’re standing up for yourself. But I don’t think it’s doing you any good, this constant fighting with Tony.”

He looked at her for a second, feeling a little defensive.

“He keeps on finding me, I’m not looking for him!” He said.

She gave him a soft smile, easing his worries.

“I know, Peter. But I remember a time when you would hang onto every word he would say! You even asked me if it was okay to see him as a father figure!” She said softly, he winced slightly, remembering their conversation. “I’m not saying you should stop being Spider-Man or let him walk all over you, but maybe you should go and see him, and just talk it out.”

He hesitated for a moment, his breath hitching a little.

“Last time I went there to talk it out we ended up not speaking for nearly a year.” He said, his voice very small. 

“Please, Peter. Just try, and if it doesn’t go well, at least you know you did your best.” She offered. 

Peter stared at her for a moment, but then sighed and nodded. He definitely did not want to do that, but he couldn’t say no to her right now. 

“Now, I know you want to stay here, but you need to rest. I know you didn’t sleep last night!” She said, her voice a little stern. “Go home, have a shower and a sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She planted a kiss on his cheek, signalling an end to their conversation.

Peter huffed a little, put returned a kiss of his own to her cheek before he climbed down from the bed. He walked towards the door and paused, turning to look at his aunt one last time before he went home.

“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind staying here and sleeping in the chair!” He offered quickly.

She chuckled slightly.

“Go home, Peter!” She said, her eyes sparkling with affection for her boy.

He hesitated, but nodded, tucking the paper bag under his arm as he did. 

 

He made his way home slowly, swinging from roof to roof in his normal clothes, not too worried about being seen so late at night. He arrived at his apartment, and looked around carefully before kicking off his shoes and sticking them in the paper bag. He awkwardly climbed up the wall with one hand clinging to the bag. 

He made it inside and let out a small sigh of relief, happy to be back home despite May’s absence. He threw the paper bag in the corner of his room and made his way to the bathroom. He scrubbed quickly, trying not to think about how some blood had gotten onto his arms or how dirty his hair was. He simply scrubbed and then jumped out. Finally, he put on his pyjamas and lay on his bed, not really wanting to sleep, but feeling a heavy weariness fall over him, he fell into a dreamless state, only waking a little after nine the next morning.

He knew he had a task ahead of him, he had someone to visit today. But he was desperate to avoid it, and so he dragged out his morning routine, even taking another shower just so that he would have a reason not to leave the house. He did everything in slow motion, and took a good amount of time trying to decide if he should wear his normal clothes and catch the train, or if he should wear his Spider-Man suit, and swing across the city.

He let out a slightly annoyed puff, and grabbed the suit, shoving it on begrudgingly, knowing that if he got there faster, then he could come home sooner. It was a little after eleven when he finally re-opened his bedroom window and snuck out, taking extra caution in the bright sun. He snuck up on to the roof and began the once familiar route to Stark tower. As he swung and ran between buildings, he found himself lost in thought, remembering his encounter with Mr. Stark the previous evening. He felt his rage building in him as he did, and absentmindedly began to swing fast and land harder. He swung from building to building, allowing himself to take his anger out on his landings. He saw ahead of him, a building with a particularly large gap before it. He sprinted across his current roof and swung out. Just as he hit mid-swing, something caught him around his middle, seeming to fly in from the side. He felt himself become winded and his vision went funny for a moment, before he felt his back land hard against the rooftop of the building he had just come from.


	10. Fragile Peace

Peter pushed back against whatever it was that had knocked him out of the sky, he shoved hard and the thing fell off of him with a thunk, but Peter saw it stand up quickly next to him, he stopped struggling and let out a dramatic sigh, dropping his head back to the ground as he saw the Iron Man armour standing next to him.

“Thought you’d retired?” He muttered more to himself than to Mr. Stark.

The Iron Man suit walked forward and extended a hand, one that Peter begrudgingly accepted as he came to his feet.

“Only counts if I’m in them.” The suit replied.

“Oh, so this is…” Peter trailed off, not sure what was going on.

“And old suit, yes.” Mr. Stark said, his voice sounding a little robotic through the suit. 

Peter stared at the suit for a moment, he wasn’t angry, just thoroughly unsure as to what was going in. He pulled off his mask and crossed his arms, holding his gaze.

“So,” He began slowly, one eye twitching slightly as he struggled to read the situation, “What are you…?” He trailed off, hoping Mr. Stark would indulge him, he didn’t and so Peter pushed on, “Why did you tackle me mid-air?” He asked, his confusion clear in his raised eyebrow. 

The suit shrugged a little.

“I’d been calling out to you for a few blocks, you didn’t hear me.”

“So you tackled me onto a roof?” Peter asked, both eyebrows now raised. “You know, I was on my way to see you anyway.” He supplied, becoming a little defensive. “Where are you anyway?” He asked, his voice picking up in pitch as his frustration slowly returned to him. He shook off a thought, for a moment it had been calm between them, almost as if the last year had not happened. 

His eye caught something move to his left, and he let out a surprised huff as Mr. Stark came out from his hiding place, behind a small hut that opened to the staircase leading down into the building. Mr. Stark stepped forward into the sunlight, obviously enjoying his dramatic entrance.

Peter felt his face contort in an odd way as his confusion, surprise and frustration mingled together to create an overwhelmingly weird emotion.

“Wha- How?” He sputtered out.

Mr. Stark shrugged, walking towards Peter with his hands tucked into his suit pockets. He stopped when he stood next to the Iron Man suit.

Peter pulled himself together, and recrossed his arms, his mask hanging loosely between his fingers as he stared at Mr. Stark, choosing to remain silent until the older man spoke.

Mr. Stark watched him for a second, his eyes narrowed slightly, before he began.

“We need to talk.” He said, firmly.

Peter nodded.

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I was coming to you.” He said quickly, gesturing in the general direction of the tower. 

Mr. Stark didn’t respond for a second, he just looked at Peter as though he was trying to gauge how angry the boy was, and then, deciding that Peter was only mildly annoyed, presented his case.

“Pete, look. I think we can both agree that you and I are going to clash.” Mr. Stark said in a frighteningly even tone.

Peter gave him a sharp look; this was not the direction he had thought this conversation would go.

“Wh-what do you mean by that?” He asked, hesitantly.

Mr. Stark sighed a little and seemed to rub his wrist a little ad he thought his words out carefully.

“What I mean, Peter, is that it has become apparent to me that you no longer have any desire for me to be in your life.”

Peter gave him an incredulous look, but before he could speak in his own defence, Mr. Stark ploughed on.

“Pete, look. I thought about what you said to me last night after you, you know, saved me.” He admitted, albeit, begrudgingly, Peter winced slightly, knowing he had said some hurtful things, “You were right.” Mr. Stark said, his face not at all showing how he truly felt, his glasses hiding his eyes.

Peter reached out his hand to stop Mr. Stark from speaking.

“No, no. I shouldn’t have said those things, I mean, I was really pissed off at you, and, to be honest, I still kind of am, but I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” He rushed.

“Peter, stop.” Mr. Stark said, his voice filling with an authority that made Peter’s words die in his mouth. His tone gentled and he spoke softly, “Look, kid.” He took a deep breath, “I can see that you are ready to move on in life. But if you ever need anything, just name it, and I’ll help you out, no conditions.” 

Peter gaped slightly as Mr. Stark gave him a small smile, then turned and began to walk towards the small hut. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He threw up his hands in exasperation. 

“What? That’s all you have to say for yourself?” He asked, his voice raised slightly. Mr. Stark didn’t stop, he was about to reach the door, “Nearly six years and you just walk away? Do you have any idea how selfish you’re being?” The man didn’t stop, so Peter yelled out the most hurtful thing he could think of, “You know, for someone who doesn’t want to be anything like their father you sure are going up and beyond to achieve your own standard of being an asshole!”

He saw that his words had hit their mark as Mr. Stark froze right before his hand touched the door handle. He turned slowly to face Peter, anger sizzling on his face. Peter held his glare, a little relieved that he could just say everything that he had kept pent up for over a year.

“What did you say to me?” Mr. Stark asked in a low, dangerous voice.

Peter dropped his arms and walked slightly closer to Mr. Stark, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as his rage blurred the corners of his vision.

“You heard me.” Peter replied in a hushed, violent tone. 

Mr. Stark stormed toward him, finger pointed.

“Don’t you dare compare me to Howard, kid.” He snapped back.

“You always complained that he wasn’t present, well, I’d like to remind you that you haven’t been present for a year!” Came Peters rage induced response. 

“Because you chose to walk away!”

Peter felt his eyes narrow.

“You walked away first!” He yelled suddenly, stepping closer to Mr. Stark who once again stood next to his suit.

“Because you abandoned me in a Siberian bunker with a pack of super soldiers!” Mr. Stark yelled back, gesturing wildly.

“No! You tried to stop me from saving Ned! That’s when this started to fall apart!”

“Because you were going to get yourself killed! You’re lucky I arrived when I did!”

Peter’s jaw felt tighten, and he clenched his fist, not noticing the nervous look that crossed Mr. Starks face as he took a few steps closer to the man. Mr. Stark moved to stand in front of his suit.

“You were supposed to be there for me! You were the one who always called me ‘your kid’! How do you think that felt when you just decided that I wasn’t your kid anymore! We disagree and suddenly I’m not good enough?” He all but screamed.

Mr. Stark held out a hand as Peter got closer. Peter barely registered that the suit had opened and Mr. Stark was stumbling back into it.

“Peter, that’s not –“ He said, is voice lowering again, but Peter cut him off.

“You chose to walk away! And then you swoop in and try and tell me what I can and can’t do! Well, you’re not my dad! You don’t get to do that!” He screamed, the sharp look of hurt on Mr. Starks face breaking through. He didn’t care, he rushed forward just as the suit closed around Mr. Stark and shoved it back. He knew he hadn’t shoved hard, but the suit stumbled back quite a bit, Mr. Stark reached out his hand to the hut to catch his balance.

“Steady, kid.” He said, his voice sounding automated through the mask, he held out and armoured hand, trying to calm Peter.

“No! You hurt me! I thought you cared about me, but you left me crying in a hanger because you didn’t want a failure of a kid!” He sauntered forward, and stood in front of Mr. Stark, crowding him against the wall. 

“Peter, that’s not what happened, I-” He was cut off again as Peter punched the brick wall next to his helmet, smashing right through to the other side.

Mr. Stark jumped to defend himself before Peter landed a real punch, he shoved Peter back slightly and rushed away from the wall.

“I won’t fight you Peter.” He said, almost sadly. 

Peter chuckled, his anger making him almost a little manic. 

“No, you wouldn’t. You would just go and find some other kid to fight for you and then bring them into your life, but then ruin it by not letting them ever do anything again.”

“Enough, Peter!” Mr. Stark yelled, but his voice didn’t carry the same authority as earlier.

Peter leaped over to him and pushed him onto the ground. He reached down and ripped off the face plate, throwing it to the side. 

“Pete.” Mr. Stark pleaded a little, making no move to defend himself, his fear obvious in his now exposed face. 

His crossed his arms over his face a little as Peter swung his fist down, he grunted as he felt the impact through the metal armour.

Peter barley registered that his punch had been blocked, he could feel himself holding back a significant amount of strength, but he couldn’t stop himself as he punched the man, finally landing blows on his face when Mr. Stark’s arms gave out. Suddenly, a palm came to his face and he found himself flying backwards, hit with a replusor beam. He landed heavily, hitting his head slightly on the ground and letting out a small groan. He pushed himself up, and leaned on his elbows in time to see Mr. Stark fall back to the ground with a heavy grunt, obviously having tried to get up. The pained noise broke through, and he found his anger being replaced with panic as he jumped to his feet and rushed over to Mr. Stark.

The man turned his head and saw Peter running towards him, he instinctively covered his face again, as though expecting another attack.

“No, no, no. I-I won’t-“ Peter stuttered out as he crouched next to the man, he put gentle hands on Mr. Stark’s wrists and pulled the man’s arms away from his face.

He took a sharp intake of breath as he saw a trickle of blood coming from the man’s nose, red marks covered his face. 

“You done?” Mr. Stark asked, warily watching Peter, his voice a little raspy.

Peter felt his jaw move uselessly, so he simply nodded.

“Good.” Mr. Stark grunted as the suit opened and he sat up, his arm came up to Peter’s shoulder and he leaned heavily on the boy to remain sitting. 

Mr. Stark stared out at the city for a moment, as if he were simply trying to catch his breath, finally he looked at Peter.

“Help me up.” He simply said.

Peter nodded, and put two hands under Mr. Stark’s arm, pulling him up from the opened suit. He stood slowly, allowing Mr. Stark to lean heavily on him for a second.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, looking down slightly at Mr. Stark, who was only a few centimetres shorter than him.

Mr. Stark just let out a breath and nodded, looking straight ahead of him

“Yeah, okay, let’s just, maybe, sit, over there?” Mr. Stark got out between gasps, still struggling to catch his breath.

Peter looked over to a small bench someone had brought up to the roof, next to it, a tiny vegetable garden. He threw Mr. Stark’s arm around his neck and walked him over, helping him sit on the bench.

He crouched slightly in front of the older man, who seemed to be looking everywhere except at Peter.

“Mr. Stark, I-I’m so sorry.” He said quietly.

Mr. Stark’s breathing seemed to be finally calming, but Peter could still see him taking deep breaths. He looked up at Mr. Stark with wide eyes, but the man made no verbal response, he just closed his eyes and shook his head. 

Peter fell silent, and lowered his own eyes for a second. He lifted himself off of the ground and sat in the bench next to Mr. Stark, his eyes occasionally glancing over to him. Mr. Stark seemed to be deep in thought, he just stared out at the city, taking deep breaths.

“I know who the bomber is.” Mr. Stark said suddenly, his voice quite low.

Peter looked at him with surprise, and turned slightly towards Mr. Stark. 

“Oh?” He replied, confused for about the millionth time that day, “Uh, who is it?”

Mr. Stark huffed a little, and pulled out a phone from his breast pocket, those Stark phones really were indestructible! He pulled an image onto the screen and passed it over to Peter.

Peter looked down at the image of a man, he appeared to be about the same age as Mr. Stark, except his hair was receding and there were far deeper wrinkles around his eyes. 

“Who is it?” Peter asked, still staring at the picture.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket a little.

“Jeremiah Stane.”

Peter whipped his head up at the name.

“Yo-you mean like, Stane? Like Obadiah Stane?”

Mr. Stark looked at him with a sad smile and gave him a small nod.

“Didn’t even know Obadiah had a kid.” Mr. Stark said, looking back out at the view. “But then again, I didn’t know he was selling missiles under the table either.”

Peter studied him for a moment.

“Why are you showing this to me? I thought you didn’t want me anywhere near the bomber?” He asked quickly, passing the phone back to Mr. Stark.

Mr. Stark huffed and shrugged his shoulders a little, still not looking at Peter.

“Doesn’t really make a difference what I want.” He muttered.

Peter felt his brow crease a little at Mr. Starks words.

“Are you going to find him?” He asked.

“We’re going to pay him a visit.” Mr. Stark announced, much to Peter’s surprise.

Mr. Stark stood from the bench, having recovered himself enough to walk back to the stairs and catch the lift inside down to his waiting car. 

“Wait, what? We? I‘m sorry, I’m not sure I’m following what you’re saying. You want me to go with you to fight a bomber?” He asked quickly, following Mr. Stark as the man walked back towards the hut. 

“No.” Mr. Stark said sharply, “We’re not fighting him, we’re just questioning him.”

“O-okay? Wh-why the sudden change?”

Mr. stark stopped right before the door and turned to face Peter. Peter felt his breath catch, Mr. Stark had never given him a look like that before, it wasn’t a glare, and it wasn’t a smile, it was, well, nothing. The man had just given up. 

“Half way through getting punched in the face I figured you’d just go and find him anyway. May as well come with me.”

Mr. Stark turned, opening the door.

“Wait!” Peter yelled.

Mr. Stark let out another sigh and turned to face Peter again.

Peter pointed back to the faceplate that lay on the ground a few feet away from Mr. Stark, and the still opened Iron Man suit.

“You gonna take those?” He asked.

Mr. Stark rolled his eyes and turned away, beginning his descent.

“Friday, take them home.” He heard the man say as he rounded the first corner.

Peter watched as small thrusters came on the helmet and it hovered in the air, it was joined by the suit, and together, the two flew off in the direction of Stark tower, leaving Peter alone on the roof.

He looked around, the roof feeling very quite in the absence of Mr. Stark. He sighed, and walked over to where he had dropped his mask. He quickly shoved it over his head.

“Peter, you have one message from Tony Stark, received, three seconds ago.” Karen told him as soon as the interface came to life.

“Three seconds? How?” Peter asked.

“Text message from Tony Stark: Directions to warehouse uploaded into your suit, be there at nine p.m. End Message.”

Peter simply stood on the roof for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. Finally, he ran to the edge of the roof, swinging out as he made his way home.


	11. Information Overload

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're someone who is inclined to details, you will notice I've extended the book by one chapter. The reason being that this chapter was way too long, so I've decided to break it up across two chapters. 
> 
> Beside's that, thank you for the kind comments I've been receiving. It's so good to see you guys getting invested in the story. I hope that I continue to write a story that you can lose yourself in!
> 
> Thanks fam. :)

Peter arrived home soon after his conversation with Mr. Stark, he felt extremely guilty and more than a little confused about what had happened. But, for some reason, he felt light than he had all year. He’d finally been able to share how he really felt about Mr. Stark, and, he had to admit, it had felt good to punch the man in the face. But now, as hung upside down from the ceiling in the middle of his living room still wearing his Spider-Man suit, he was just plain confused. Why had Mr. Stark suddenly flipped and allowed him to come with him to confront the bomber? Why had he seemed so removed after Peter had punched him?

He spun in small circles as he debated the issue in his head.

“Karen, how far from here to the location Mr. Stark sent?” He asked.

The headset showed a route to the location, it was not far, still in Queens.

“It will take you approximately fifteen minutes to arrive.” Karen responded. 

“Okay, cool.” He said, then paused for a moment, deciding that a little research would not hurt. “Hey, Karen. What do we know about this Jeremiah Stane guy?” He asked, trying to sound casual.

“What about him would you like to know?” Karen asked.

“Um, maybe, like, how he got the bombs maybe?” He asked.

The headset flashed images before his eyes as Karen searched for information. However, just when she seemed to be close, the screen came up with an error message, something Peter had never seen before. 

“Error? What do you mean error? You’ve never errored before!”

“It would appear that Mr. Stark blocked the information to Jeremiah Stane at the same time that he put in the location.”

Peter’s brow creased a little.

“Yeah, how did he do that?”

“The sequence was sent remotely, at the same time that I received the text message.”

“Oh, so Mr. Stark sent it from his phone?”

“Yes, Peter.”

Peter huffed slightly, perhaps the man hadn’t been as indifferent to him as he had first thought.

“That’s okay, I’ll just look on my laptop.” Peter said suddenly as though a great idea had just come to him. He flipped and landed on his feet, walking towards his bedroom.

“Peter, Mr. Stark still has your laptop.” Karen reminded him.

Peter groaned dramatically and walked back towards the living room, flopping down onto the couch and landing face first into some cushions. 

“Why!” He moaned, dragging the word out far longer than he should have.

“Because you watched private recordings to find out his password and hacked into his company to steal information.” Karen responded simply.

Peter lifted his head up.

“You definitely didn’t need to answer that.” He said a little sharply. 

He put his head back down into the cushions, he couldn’t deal with all of this right now. The three people he cared about most were all in hospital, all injured because of Jeremiah Stane! He desperately wanted that information, he didn’t want to go in blind. His mind drifted to May, how she had held him only the night before. He then thought of MJ, his wonderfully sassy and intelligent girlfriend with whom he had shared many firsts over the last few months. Finally, he thought of Ned, his best friend in the entire world. His eyes snapped open. 

“Ned!” He exclaimed, jumping up slightly from the couch.

If Ned was conscious his parents would have brought him his laptop! Ned’s were a little over bearing, but they certainly loved their son and would have brought him something to keep him distracted while he was recovering, the only thing Ned would have wanted was his phone or his laptop, which had been at his house!

“Karen, call Ned Leeds!”

“Calling; Ned Leeds.” Karen announced as the dial tone began in his mask.

He paced slightly, excitement building to not only ask for Ned’s help, but just to speak with his friend. Ned answered on the fourth ring.

“Peter!” Ned exclaimed. “Peter it’s so good to hear from you! I’m so bored! Mum brought me my laptop but there’s nothing interesting to do!”

Peter chuckled slightly, knowing Ned was ready to have fun.

“Dude, it’s so good to hear your voice! I was so worried, your leg looked so bad when I dragged you out.” Peter replied quickly.

“Yeah,” Ned sighed, “The doctors said it would just be some scarring, nothing major. Hey, you gonna come and visit? Wait, hold on one second, MJ just walked in, I’m gonna put you on speaker.”

Peter grinned even wider, knowing that both of them were there. He heard a little shuffle as Ned held the phone out to change it to speaker.

“Okay, you’re on speaker!” Ned announced.

“Hey MJ!” Peter called, grinning stupidly. “How are you feeling?”

Peter could almost feel the eye roll she gave through the phone, and found himself chuckling a little, he heard her and Ned both laugh a little at the other end.

“I’m fine, Peter. They said that I could go home in a few days. Mums gonna come pick me up.” She said. To anyone else, she may have sounded overly serious, but Peter could hear the smile in her voice.

“That’s good. When do you get to go home, Ned?” He asked, not forgetting about his other friend. 

“Same as MJ, just a couple of days.” He replied

“So, what’s going on with you Peter? I mean, other than taking off your mask and fighting Tony Stark on rooftops.” MJ quipped.

Peter gulped.

“Wha- Say what? I, uh”

“Dude, it’s all over YouTube.” Ned said, sounding a little worried. “Some lady filmed you from her apartment window. Called Tony Stark a pussy because he rolled over and took the punch.

“Oh no, no, no. This is bad.” Peter muttered more to himself than the others. “How long has it been up?”

“Only an hour, but it’s picking up views fast. You might want to do something about that” Ned said quickly.

“I can’t! Mr. Stark took my laptop!” He exclaimed.

“Is that why you punched him?” MJ asked, her tone even.

“What? No! Of course, not!” Peter replied quickly. “Ned, you have your laptop, can you delete it?”

“Yeah, one sec.” He said, Peter heard him speak quietly with MJ, “Pass me my laptop.” He said, some rustling sounds followed as MJ passed it to him. 

“H-how long do you think it will take?” Peter asked nervously.

“Maybe two minutes.” Ned answered confidently.

“Okay, cool, cool, cool.” Peter said quickly, feeling rather antsy.

“How long would it take you, Peter?” MJ teased, clearly trying to deflect the tension of the situation through humour. It did not land well with Peter, but he bit back his snarky response.

“Okay, got the video up and, woah!” Ned exclaimed, “That’s a solid punch you threw at that wall!”

“Oh, god. Just delete it!” Peter exclaimed. 

“Okay, one more second.” Ned said. Peter heard his fingers flying over the keys.

“I thought you said two minutes!”

“I lied to make you feel better.” Ned admitted, a smug sound to his voice. “Okay, got it. It’s down.”

Peter sighed in relief.

“Thanks! Hey, listen, I, uh, actually kind of needed another favour.” He said meekly.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Ned asked.

“I need you to break into Mr. Starks server. I, uh, got in last time, but it sent him an alert and he showed up at my door and took my laptop.”

“Okay.” MJ said slowly, “So you want Ned to break into it and have his laptop taken away.”

“Well, no.” Peter said, but hesitated, “But actually, yeah. A little bit. But Mr. Stark won’t take your laptop away. I promise!”

“You sure?” Ned asked slowly.

Peter nodded.

“Yeah.” He said, a little too confidently. “You remember how to get to it, right?”

He heard Ned typing away.

“Yeah, I’m there. Usual login screen. I’ll-“

“Shit.” Peter muttered. “I forgot, Mr. Stark would have changed his password for the new week. He probably changed the order since I broke in last.”

“Peter.” MJ said, trying to get his attention. 

“I mean, I could go through some possibilities but we only get three tries.” Peter rambled on.

“Dude!” Ned tried again.

“Sorry guys, give me a second to think. I’m sure I can come up with some options.”

“Peter, we have an encryption key. We can just go past it.” Ned said evenly. 

Peter froze, realising he had been pacing unconsciously.

“What?”

“Yeah, man. You have one too. Remember? We wanted to pull a prank on Mr. Stark a few years ago so we made encryption keys and broke into all his computers and put a picture of us as his wallpaper everywhere.” Ned paused, waiting for Peter to respond. He was met with silence, ‘You photo-shopped your face onto the Iron Man armour? I was Thor? You put Mr. Stark’s face on Captain America?” Further silence. “Dude! He was so mad! How can you not remember this?”

“Oh, yeah, right” Peter bluffed, “So, uh, when was this again?”

He heard Ned sigh a little.

“Dude, don’t worry about it. I’ll remind you some other time. Am I going to his personal server or the Stark Industries one?”

“Personal?” Peter said, not entirely sure where the information would be stored.

“Awwww.” MJ and Ned said in unison.

“What? What? What am I missing?” Peter asked quickly.

“Mr. Stark changed his profile picture. It’s him holding his baby.” MJ explained. 

“The baby looks so tiny!” Ned squealed. 

Peter felt a little something prickle at his heart. He shoved the ugly emotion down.

“Cool, whatever. Just, Ned, look for any files with the name Jeremiah Stane. S-t-a-n-e.” He said quickly.

He heard Ned sigh dramatically.

“Fine, I mean, if you don’t want us to feel joy that’s fine. I mean, that’s pretty freakin’ adorable. Iron Man holding a baby.” Ned muttered. 

“Ned! Focus!” Peter called.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve got some files here. They’re in a folder called, and I kid you not, ‘Pete if you find this I will kick your ass.’” Ned laughed slightly.

Peter felt his eyes bulge slightly.

“Ha, ha. Very funny. There is no way that’s what it’s called.” Peter said dryly, getting a little irritated.

“He’s not kidding, Peter. We’ll send you a picture.” MJ said.

A few seconds later the image appeared in Peter’s headset. 

“Argh!” Peter groaned.

“You want us to keep going?” Ned asked. 

“Yeah, yeah. Just go quickly, I’m not sure if we would have set off any alerts by bypassing the log in. What time was the folder created?”

“Looks like Mr. Stark created this at four-fifteen this morning.” Ned responded quickly.

“Okay, go in, see if you can find information about Jeremiah Stane. See if there is anything there about how he came to have the weapons.”

He heard a deathly silence at the other end.

“Peter.” MJ said slowly, breaking the tension, “Are we looking at the bombers file?”

“Um, maybe?” Peter responded shyly.

“I don’t know, Peter. Maybe there’s a reason Mr. Stark is keeping this from you.” Ned said seriously.

“Seriously!” Peter exclaimed a little, but kept his voice low. “Ned, please. Mr. Stark asked me to go with him to question this guy tonight. I don’t want to go in blind.” He pleaded. “Please!”

He heard Ned sigh, and then his fingers moved across the keyboard once more.

“Fine. There’s only two files in here anyway. One is a voice recognition file and the other is a call tracer. I doubt Mr. Stark knows much more than you.”

“So all he has is an i.d. from a phone call and the location of the call?” Peter asked, slightly taken aback by Mr. Starks lack of information. 

“Pretty much.” Ned agreed.

Suddenly, his screen changed.

“Incoming call: Tony Stark.” Karen announced.

“One sec!” He said to Karen, putting the call on hold. “Guys, Mr. Stark is calling. Get off of the server. I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you guys later. Thanks for your help!”

Ned and MJ shared their goodbyes as Peter ended the call.

“Okay, Karen. Put Mr. Stark through.” Peter waited only a second, then Mr. Starks face appeared on the screen. He seemed to be sitting in the back of a car, Peter could hear Pepper’s voice next to him, speaking softly to someone else. “Oh, hey Mr. Stark!” he greeted him, trying to sound as casual as he could.

Mr. Stark gave him an odd look that caused Peter to gulp slightly.

“You alright, kid?” He asked, completely changed from his indifferent attitude of earlier. 

“Oh, uh. Yeah! Um, why are you calling?” He asked, not wanting to sound rude, but wanting to know if he had been busted. 

Mr. Starks eyes narrowed suspiciously. 

“You sure? I mean, I got an alert a few minutes ago. Is that going to be you hacking into my server again?” He asked slowly.

Peter heard a baby cry somewhere in the back ground, and Mr. Starks camera moved just enough that Peter saw a baby seat next to him, a small baby in the centre of the backseat. He saw the edge of Pepper’s head as she leaned over and shushed the baby. He saw all of this in only the second it took for Mr. Stark to correct his camera. 

“Kid? Is that you? Because I have your laptop still, I need to know before I make some calls.” He said seriously.

Peter swallowed, he knew he couldn’t risk Ned and MJ getting trouble.

“Um, yeah.” He admitted quietly.

“You found the folder that I named specifically to deter you?”

Peter hesitated.

“Maybe?”

Mr. Stark let out a huff, and Peter saw Peppers hand come across and land on his shoulder, rubbing gently. 

“Pete, If I knew anything else I would have told you. That’s why we’re only going to talk to him, am I clear? No fighting, we’re just going to speak with him.” He said firmly. 

“Okay.” Peter said quietly.  
“Okay.” Mr. Stark said firmly, “I’ll see you tonight. Please, for the love of god, stay out of trouble. Promise?”

He saw Mr. Starks serious face, he decided to indulge the man just once.

“Okay, I promise.” He said in a small voice. 

He saw a genuine smile flash across the older man’s face, only for a second, before it returned to its prior state. 

“Great. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay. See you then.” Just as he saw Mr. Stark was about to end the call, he spoke up, “Bye Pepper!” He called.

Mr. Stark hesitated for a second, but then moved the camera so that Pepper’s face was in the shot, she leaned over the baby seat slightly and smiled warmly at him.

“Bye, Pete. It’s good to see you, even if it’s just through the phone.” She said genuinely.

Peter smiled, happy to hear such kind words from her. The camera turned back to Mr. Stark’s stony face.

“Okay, see you later. End call.” 

Peter sighed as the screen returned to its normal state. He quickly tugged off his mask, a grin forming on his face. Mr. Stark hadn’t yelled at him! They’d made it through an entire conversation without screaming at each other! Furthermore, Mr. Stark hadn’t changed his mind about wanting Peter to come on the mission, something he suspected had only happened because Pepper had been in the car when he called. He quickly took off the suit and showered for the second time that day, feeling sweaty from his earlier fight with Mr. Stark. 

After his shower, he checked the time, it was only three p.m. He still had six hours to kill before he met up with Mr. Stark at the warehouse. Not really having anything better to do, he took out his phone and texted with May for a little while. Then he texted Ned and MJ, updating them on situation. He looked at the clock, it was only 3:45! He sighed dramatically and then turned the TV on and scrolled through Netflix, hoping to pass the time. The entirety of the day passed slowly, Peter’s eagerness to confront Jeremiah Stane building as time went on. Finally, 8:45pm came, and Peter excitedly crawled out of his window and made his way toward the warehouse.


	12. The Enemy Himself

Peter stood outside the large, brick warehouse in a small dark patch near the wall, his red suit doing nothing to really hide him. He looked around, despite the fact that it was now 9:01, Mr. Stark had not yet arrived. He paced a little in the limited space he had, his adrenalin beginning to kick in. 9:02, where was Mr. Stark? He found himself looking up at the night sky, but then quickly shook himself. It seemed like he waited for hours, but in reality, it was only another two minutes before he heard the loud sounds of a sports car pulling in front of him. He saw the Stark name on the number plate and stepped out of his shadow just as Mr. Stark opened the door and stepped out in a fresh, blue suit. 

“A little dressed up?” Peter asked as he came closer, his mask covering his frown.

Mr. Stark smirked a little at him and then opened the back door of his black Jaguar and grabbed something. He threw it towards Peter. Peter caught the brown paper bag instinctively, he hesitated before looking inside. He felt his breath catch as he recognised some clothes he had left in his old room at Stark tower, although, the pair of converse on the top were definitely new. 

“Wh-what’s this? I thought we wer-“

“Questioning him, not fighting.” Mr. Stark ended his sentence for him, adjusting his suit as Peter stared between the bag and him. Mr. Stark noticed this and frowned severely, “Get changed kid. We don’t have all night.”

Peter hesitated, looking around him, there wasn’t exactly anywhere he could just get changed.

Mr. Stark sighed dramatically and turned his back, allowing Peter some privacy.

Peter waited another moment, a little hesitant, but then shrank back to his shadow and put the bag on the ground, quickly changed into the clothes Mr. Stark had brought for him. He adjusted the shirt, cringing a little as it was now just a little tight around his shoulders. 

“You done yet?” Mr. Stark called impatiently.

Peter looked up and saw the man still had his back to him.

“Oh, uh. Yeah. I’m done!” He called back quickly, shoving his suit into the bag, but taking a moment to remove something from the suit.

Mr. Stark held out his hand, and Peter stepped forward, returning the bag to him. The older man turned and threw the bag into the back of the car and shut the door as Peter idly wondered if he’d ever see it again. He turned to look at Mr. Stark, the man had turned back to face him, his jaw tense, his eyes searching Peter’s face. Finally, he sighed, breaking the small amount of tension that had built between them. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a nano housing unit, hesitating before offering it to Peter.

Peter looked at the thing in Mr. Starks hand, and then back up at the man’s face.

“You serious?” He asked, not quite sure he could believe what was happening.   
“Yes.” Mr. Stark said, his voice quiet, but hard. 

Peter stepped forward and reached out a tentative hand, and grabbed the housing unit. Mr. Stark didn’t let go, causing Peter eyes to snap back up to the older man’s face, they were a little close for Peter’s liking. Mr. Stark held eye contact for a second.

“Pete. I’m trusting you. Don’t fuck this up.” He warned. “Just talking tonight. This is only for if he attacks us and we need to defend ourselves, got it?”

“Yes, sir.” Peter agreed solemnly, nodding his head a little too enthusiastically, eager to re-gain the Iron-Spider suit. 

Mr. Stark released the housing unit and Peter took it gratefully into his hands, stepping back into his own personal space again. He reached up under his shirt and attached the device over his chest. He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face as he looked back at Mr. Stark.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark!” He said happily.

Mr. Stark seemed to be holding back his own smile, but instead of showing this emotion to Peter, he just grunted a little and rambled some useless facts.

“The, uh, I had to recalibrate your suit to fit your growth spurt, you know, since your tall now.” Mr. Stark said quickly, gesturing to Peter’s height.

Peter felt himself chuckle

“Also, uh, if you want that to work and not look like an idiot, you should probably put it on top of your shirt, not under.” Mr. Stark said, a little gleam of amusement in his eye and he pointed vaguely at Peter’s chest. 

Peter looked down at the unit, the back up at Mr. Stark, his eyes wide.

“Oh, right.” He said with a nervous chuckle, his cheeks heating up a little. He quickly reached up under his shirt and unstuck the device, pulling it out and re-attaching it to the front of his shirt. He hesitated for a moment, his hand lingering over the unit, “Wait. Won’t he be able to see this?” He asked.

Mr. Stark let out a small chuckle, and re-opened the back door of the car, ducking in and then re-emerging, throwing a jacket at Peter as he closed the door. Peter gaped a little, this was Mr. Stark’s jacket. It was probably worth more than his and May’s apartment! He shook the thought and quickly shoved the thing on, zipping it up so that it covered the unit. He looked over at Mr. Stark who stood a little too casually in front of his car, hands shoved into the pockets of his suit, his head tilted a little as he watched Peter, a small, worried smile playing on his lips. He seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, but shook it off suddenly. He began to walk forward, past Peter, toward the entrance of the building, he stopped next to Peter, and pulled a hand out of his pocket and placed it on Peter’s shoulder.

“Look,” he said, a little hesitantly, “I know that inviting you to join me caught you a little off guard. But,” He paused, taking a deep breath, clearly searching for the words, he looked just past Peter’s face, not quite able to take more than glances into Peter’s eyes, “But Pepper said a few days ago that I should give you another chance. And considering that walking away clearly was a horrible choice that neither of us should have made… this is it.”

He looked slightly up at Peter, a little earnest as he finally held Peter’s eye contact.

“This is our chance, Peter. Let’s not screw this up.”

Peter looked at Mr. Stark, and gave him a small nod.

Mr. Stark patted his hand on the shoulder, his eyes moving on as he walked away, towards the entrance, obviously expecting Peter to follow.

“After this we’ll sort out the rest.” Mr. Stark said a little louder, not looking back as he walked towards the door, taking his glasses out of his breast pocket and shoving them on. The lenses lit up with information. “Right now, we are keeping our host waiting.”

Mr. Stark turned as he arrived at the door, watching Peter walk slowly towards him, a little hesitant.

 

They walked inside the darkened warehouse, Mr. Stark walking confidently ahead, his hands shoved, once again, into his pants pockets. Peter followed behind a little more cautiously, keeping up with Mr. Stark as they walked through the dimly lit hallways, but his head turning to investigate every little noise. He frowned a little, it seemed that Mr. Stark knew exactly where he was headed, but Peter felt a little uncomfortable, not knowing their destination.

“Uh, Mr. Stark?” He spoke up, a little hushed as their footsteps echoed off of the floors and walls, “Where are we going?”

Mr. Stark stopped suddenly right as they were about to turn a sharp corner, causing Peter to nearly walk into him. Mr. Stark turned to face him, his arms reaching out instinctively to catch Peter from bumping him. 

“Friday tells me out guy is just around the corner.” He said, tapping his glasses as though Peter needed evidence. He continued in a hushed tone, “Remember. Just talking!”

He turned the corner and Peter followed behind quickly, noticing that Mr. Stark’s body language was no longer causal, but tense, as though he were ready for a fight. He noticed that Mr. Stark’s hand would occasionally reach up to touch something in his other breast pocket, as though reminding himself it was there. 

As soon as they had turned the corner, Peter saw the destination Mr. Stark had in mind. It was a small, boxy office that overlooked an open expanse of the warehouse through a slim window. And through the open door, Peter could see a man sitting at the desk, looking out of said window.

It seemed to Peter that the man in question was not all surprised by their appearance, but rather, had been expecting them. Perhaps this would explain why Mr. Stark had not allowed him to enter as Spider-Man. If the man were expecting a fight, he may have prepared for it, but dressed in his normal clothes, Peter knew he looked harmless, weak even from a distance. The man turned in his chair as they came closer to the office, his seemed to be putting on a front of ease, but even from their distance, Peter could hear the man’s heart pounding.

“Mr. Stark!” The man said as they arrived at the door way, opening his arms in a welcoming gesture, but making no move to get out of his chair.

“Mr. Stane.” Mr. Stark replied in a cool tone, walking smoothly into the tiny office, Peter following close behind.

Mr. Stane’s eyes followed Mr. Stark closely, before they landed on Peter. He raised an eyebrow as he assessed the boy and then looked back over at Mr. Stark, a questioning frown on his face.

“Who’s this?” He asked.

Mr. Stark smirked a little, not bothering to give the other man eye contact as he looked around the office.

“New intern.” Mr. Stark said as he walked over to small book case and looked at the books, not even trying to hide his snooping.

Mr. Stane looked back at Peter and grinned coldly.

“Well,” He said, “how’re you finding your…internship?” He asked.

Peter hesitated, but nodded.

“Yeah, uh, good, thank you.” He said as clearly as he could, but his trembled a little, a little uncertain of what the night held. He had been looking forward to this all day, but now he was here, he felt uncomfortable because he had no idea what could happen even in the next second. 

“How long you been with Stark, kid?” He asked, leaning back in his chair a little.

Peter glanced over at Mr. Stark.

“Um. First week still. Started on Monday.” He said quickly. 

The man narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded.

“You’ve picked one hell of a week to start then.” Mr. Stane said, eyes studying Peter. 

Peter looked over at Mr. Stark and saw his shoulder’s tense just a little. He watched as the older man picked up a random book and held it in his hands as he turned to face Mr. Stane once again.

“Let’s get down to business, Stane. I have something you want, but I am not willing to give it to you. Shall we compromise?” He asked seriously, his eyebrow quirking a little.

Mr. Stane studied Peter a moment longer before he turned in his chair to face Mr. Stark.

“Yes, the nano weapons.” He answered simply.

Mr. Stark paused, studying the other man for a second, before he put down the book and continued his exploration of the room, seeming very at ease despite the presence of a threat.

“The nano weapons, or the Iron Man suit?” He asked as he stopped in front of a small framed picture that hung on the opposite wall to the bookcase. 

“I already have my own suit, Stark.”

“Hmm.” Was all Mr. Stark said as he studied the art work, a cheap water painting of some flowers in a vase.

Peter watched as Mr. Stane sat up slightly in his chair, his eyes glued to the back of Mr. Stark’s head.

“You don’t believe me?” The man asked.

“No, I believe you.” Mr. Stark said distantly, his fingers tracing the picture frame. “Why don’t you show me one?” 

Peter heard a loud, metal thunk behind him, and turned to see a robotic suit walking down the hallway towards them. He quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, resisting the urge to tap the housing unit. He watched it carefully, it did not appear to be as advanced as Mr. Stark’s Iron Man suits, it wasn’t even painted, just a dull looking tin colour, though, Peter noted that it was a good deal taller than Mr. Stark’s suits. But Peter knew that looks could be deceiving, even in Mr. Stark’s early armours, there had been a plethora of weapons to choose from. He quickly turned his head back to see Mr. Stark was not even acknowledging the approaching suit. 

“What do you think, kid?” Mr. Stane asked, now watching Peter again. He now sat forward in his chair, as if he was ready to spring up into action.

Peter hesitated, casting another glance at Mr. Stark before answering. He stepped to the side as the armour walked into the room, but Peter noted it remained squarely in the door way. Not far enough in to allow access behind it, but far enough in that it could easily reach either him or Mr. Stark in one or two strides. 

“It’s, uh-“

“Outdated.” Mr. Stark replied for him, finally looking at the machine and moving to stand just slightly behind Peter. Peter felt the back of his shoulder brush against Mr. Stark’s suit and let out a slight breath as he felt Mr. Starks right hand on his left shoulder. 

“Intern, huh?” Mr. Stane asked, his eyes studying the two of them. Peter knew that he and Mr. Stark shared one or two similar features, but nothing that would cause people to look twice. But he was smart enough to know that the proud Tony Stark would never put his arm over any random intern. Not in the gentle, comforting manner he was currently displaying anyway. Mr. Stark seemed to have had the same thought and dropped his arm, stepping in front of Peter slightly.

“You have an armour, why do you need the nano technology?” He asked firmly, crossing his arms and holding Mr. Stane’s gaze.

Mr. Stane didn’t respond immediately, instead he held Mr. Starks eye contact for a moment before turning back to his desk and picking up a small, framed picture. He turned back to face them, looking down at the picture before looking between Peter and Mr. Stark.

“My father,” He began, holding out the framed photo for Mr. Stark to take, “told me a lot about you, Stark.”

Mr. Stark studied him for a moment longer, then grabbed the picture out of Mr. Stane’s hand, holding it in such a way that Peter could also see it. Peter frowned a little, it was a picture of Mr. Stane when he was far younger, when he was Peter’s age perhaps. He stood next to his father, Obadiah Stane. They stood in a side embrace, laughing into the camera in a warm looking room, a Christmas tree tucked into the left hand corner. 

“Well, your father told me nothing about you.” Mr. Stark muttered back, eyes studying the picture. 

“Hmm. My father was not overly fond of you.” Mr. Stane said smoothly.

Mr. Stark raised his eyes to meet Mr. Stane’s.

“Nor I him.”

Mr. Stane laughed and finally stood up from his chair. Peter pressed closer to Mr. Stark as he did this, not out of fear, but just wanting to be closer to the man. Mr. Stane was a good head taller than himself, and towered over Mr. Stark. He took the picture back from Mr. Stark's hands and placed it gently on the desk.

“Say what you want, Stark. The man was basically your father for a while there.”

Peter could almost feel Mr. Stark’s response from where he stood close behind, he most certainly heard the pained huff that came out of him.

“He tried to have me assassinated!”

Mr. Stane smirked slightly.

“Yes, he did.”

Peter could see Mr. Stark breathing hard, even from where he stood, and he pressed a little closer, just enough for his arm to brush Mr. Stark’s back to remind the man he was not alone. 

“You trying to keep the tradition going?” Mr. Stark asked, his voice a little snappy. 

Mr. Stane smiled, and began to walk past the two, toward his suit. Peter turned, but found that Mr. Stark also walked, following Mr. Stane just enough that he remained in front of Peter, but not enough that Peter was any further away than before. Mr. Stane stopped in front of his suit. Peter frowned, the suit looked as though it would be the perfect size for him, this did not bode well and he clenched his fists once again, resisting the urge to suit up.

“I spent many years without my father, you know. During that time, I had children of my own, and they grew up without knowing their grandfather.” Mr. Stane looked over at the two of them. “You killed my father, Stark.”

“No!” Mr. Stark snapped, pointing his finger at Mr. Stane “Your father killed himself when he tried to murder me!”

“So many years.” His eyes settled on Peter. “I wonder how your children will go without you?”

Peter stiffened slightly, and saw Mr. Stark clench his fists.

“You are not the only one who grew up without a father. Both of my parents were murdered!” Mr. Stark exclaimed in a low, violent tone.

Mr. Stane let out a condescending huff.

“As far as I was aware you also tried to take revenge on the man who killed them. You even took your… intern, was it?” He asked, innocently looking down at Peter.

Peter felt all the air leave his body in one breath. Surely now it was okay to suit up! He stepped forward slightly, but Mr. Stark moved his arm in such a way that it blocked him. He looked down at the man’s hand, he was obviously signalling for Peter to stand down. Peter stepped back slightly. 

“You know, Stark, the great thing about the position I’m in right now is that regardless of what you choose to do, you lose.”

“How’s that?” Mr. Stark asked gruffly. 

“Well,” Mr. Stane began almost casually, “You give me the nano technology and I supply it to other interested parties, you become, what was it? ah, yes! The merchant of death once again. You don’t, and I’ll kill you, then your kid will never even know their father. Or, if I can’t kill you, I’ll kill them and Pepper, and let you suffer through the remainder of your worthless day’s knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it from happening.”

The man paused for a second before returning his gaze to Peter.

“And you, kid. Finding out about you was just, well, just about the best damn thing that could have happened. Sure, it took me a long while to figure it out, had to pay some people off, but knowing that they great Tony Stark had more than one weakness was possibly the greatest asset to my plan.” He began to walk closer to them, “Finding out you’re Spider-Man, well, I should have known that, but damn, it sure did take me by surprise.”

He stopped and gave them an arrogant smirk, before he quickly traced back to his suit and tapped the front, opening the suit up. Peter felt his hand play with the zipper of the jacket he wore, ready to tear if off and suit up. 

“That video today really did help. Who knew that Iron Man and Spider Man were on such bad terms! Although, I would harbour some pretty weird daddy issues too if my dad was killed in an alien attack as his plane left New York.”

Peter felt as though he had been punched, and all reasoning suddenly left his brain. Faster than anyone could see, he tore off the jacket and tapped the housing unit, his suit pouring out quickly and covering him. Mr. Stane chuckled and jumped inside his own suit, it quickly closed behind him.

Peter saw Mr. Stark turn to face him, his eyes urgent, his hand gripped Peter’s arm tightly, stopping him for a moment.

“Pete, no.” He whispered urgently, “He’s just trying to get to you, don’t give him what he wants.”

Peter breathed harshly for a moment, and lifted his eyes to meet the glowing mask of the metal armour that towered over them. He clenched his fists, but did not move any further forward.

“You know, kid.” The other man taunted, “Targeting you in the first attack to get Stark’s attention was intentional. But getting your aunt in the second, well, that was just my lucky day.”

Peter felt something in him snap, his world faded at the edges just a little.

Without thinking, he pushed forward and shoved Mr. Stark to the side, he vaguely heard the sound of his body hitting a wall across the room. He lunged forward, tackling the larger, armoured man, not holding back even an ounce of his strength. 

He tackled the man right through the wall, falling into the large open expanse of the warehouse, ignoring the bits of plaster and wood that seemed to almost explode behind him. He shot up to the ceiling as the man continued to fall backward, and then dropped back down when the man was only a meter from the ground. He heard the loud bang of the man’s armour hit the ground and he landed heavily next to the man, his usual grace lost to his rage.

Mr. Stane raised a palm and aimed his repulsor at Peter, but peter shot forward and grabbed the hand, slamming it the ground, he scrambled over the huge armour to grab the other palm as it raised up to fire. He grabbed the wrists as hard as he could, felling the metal bend beneath him easily. He heard the sounds of a pained cry and threw the arms down. Breathing heavily, he leaned back and ripped of the face plate, revealing Mr. Stane’s pained, but somehow still grinning face. He clambered back, getting off of the man. Just as Mr. Stane started to sit up, he grabbed the suit by the legs and shot up to the ceiling, dragging the man upside down behind him. Halfway up he felt the sharp pain of a repulsor beam on his arm and lost his grip on the suit, allowing the man to fall a few meters to the ground.

Peter snarled and quickly finished his ascent to the roof and crouched on a rafter. He looked back to see the man lying on the ground, groaning in pain, but somehow, still smiling. His world turned red, and he sprung from the ceiling, diving down towards Mr. Stane, his fist ready to make contact with the mans head. He was only a few feet away when he felt himself being tackled in mid air and slammed against a wall, his breath being knocked out of him for a moment.

“Pete! Stop! You’re going to kill him!” Mr. Stark hissed through the Iron Man armour.

Peter scowled at him through his mask, realising Mr. Stark must have carried in his own unit within his suit. He pushed forward, but Mr. Stark caught his arm and pushed him back to the wall.

“Peter! No!” He yelled. 

Peter felt his breath coming quickly, and all of his earlier rage at Mr. Stark come back to him, this, and his new found rage at Mr. Stane.

“Get off of me!” He screamed, and easily shoved Mr. Stark away, sending the man flying backwards.

He saw Mr. Stan getting up, his palms facing down as though he were going to make his escape. He lunged once again, but felt himself slammed to the floor as Mr. Stark grabbed his ankle. He watched as Mr. Stane began to take off. Turning to lie on his back, he looked down at the Iron Man mask, and kicked it with his free leg. He heard a grunt from inside, but the hand didn’t let go. So, he kicked again, this time the hand let go just enough for Peter to shake lose. He turned and easily freed his leg, watching at Mr. Stane made it to the ceiling, He shot up and reached out a hand, about to grab the escaping man when he felt an intensified replusor beam shoot him down. Clearly, Mr. Stark had made a weapon just for him. He fell back down to the floor, but tumbled into a semi-graceful landing as he did, glaring at Mr. Stark who stood across the empty warehouse opening. He felt his mask retreat into his suit as he simply stood, breathing hard as Mr. Stark’s helmet also vanished into his suit. 

Mr. Stark seemed to be breathing heavily, his eyes wide and little wary as Peter just stared at him. Finally, he broke the silence.

“Pete, I-“ He began, gesturing almost apologetically, but stopped before he got any further.

Peter just glared over at him, still breathing heavily.

“Stay out of my way.” He breathed just loud enough for Mr. Stark to hear from across the large room.

With that, his mask came back and he shot up to the ceiling, escaping the warehouse and almost flying into the freedom of the night.


	13. Resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this far, I really appreciate it.  
> Those who have been reading the last little while would know that I normally upload far more quickly than have I been recently. I am quite busy with work at the moment, so I've had far less time to sit down and just type. That being said, I find this relaxes me, so hopefully I'll be back up to my normal posting rate soon.
> 
> Thanks! xx

Jeremiah grinned as he walked through his father’s old warehouse. He’d just flown in after his confrontation with Tony Stark and Peter at the other warehouse, and he was thrilled by the outcome of the evening, despite the heavy bruising and possible fractures. He had initially intended to simply shoot the spider-kid and fight Tony, but, after that video had been released earlier that day, he’d realised he could exploit their weaknesses. It was clear Tony had a soft spot for the kid, and vice versa, but, kids were moody and temperamental. He could use that. He’d simply chosen a few keys lines from his extensive research on the kid, and had exploited their weaknesses. 

As soon as he’d seen Tony trying to stop the kid, he knew he had succeeded, it was only a matter of time before he would just leave and let the two of them bicker. 

“Hey, Old man!” A younger man called out from the office, nearly identical to the one Jeremiah had just come from.

Jeremiah grinned at the man as he stepped out of the metal armour and into the room.

“Hey, son.” He replied, and walked over to where his son sat the desk. He slapped a loving hand on his shoulder.

The younger man looked up at his father, a little worry flickering over his face as he saw the red marks on Jeremiah’s face from Peter’s attack. 

“You okay Dad?” He asked.

“Matthew, I’ve never been better.” He said with a grin.

He pulled over a chair from the opposite side of the room, his excitement getting ahead of him.

“You should have seen in son, the spider kid took the bait, went straight for me. But, you were right, Stark wouldn’t let the kid actually kill me and ended up taking to kid down.”

Matthew chuckled a little, happy and very relieved that he had been correct in his estimations of the evenings events.

“I still don’t get it though.” Jeremiah said, leaning forward, “How did you know?”

Matthew smiled at his father.

“Easy. I went over all of the footage I could get my hands of Tony Stark and Spider-Man. Then, after we discovered that the intern Stark had taken special interest in was Spider-Man, I looked through any footage I could get my hands on of Stark and the kid. Took me ages, but I finally got enough to realise that Stark seems to think himself a father to the kid.”

“Yes, but how did you know Stark wouldn’t let him kill me?”

Matthew let out a snort.

“Stark is basically a murderer; he’s killed so many people they probably couldn’t think of a sentence long enough besides death for him. But, he would never let that fall onto the kid. I have no doubt Stark would have killed you, albeit, not in front of the kid, and maybe not even tonight, but there is no way he would have let the Parker kid do it himself.”

Jeremiah leaned back in his seat and gave his son a proud, appraising look.

“You did good, son.” He said with an easy, but slightly pained smile. “And after tonight, I doubt Spider-Man will be coming to Stark’s aid any time soon.”

Matthew grinned.

“That’s the plan.” He agreed.

 

Peter swung and ran through the outskirts of Queens, not really headed in the direction of home, but not really avoiding it either. He just wanted to be outside and away from Mr. Stark, away from that warehouse, and alone with his thoughts. He wanted to feel the rush of wind on his face as he swung, taking his anger out in his exercise. He went on and on, not really looking at where he was going, not really noticing the time until he found that he was surrounded by taller buildings. He kept on swinging until he finally felt a little exhaustion creeping over him. Finally, his rage decreasing and exhaustion beginning to win over, he swung unto the roof of a tall high rise building in Manhattan, and sat down heavily on the side, his feet dangling over the edge. He didn’t lift his head, just allowed his mask to creep back into the suit as he stared at his hands while he swung his feet idly. 

For a long while, his mind remained blank. He was tired, both emotionally and physically, and he just wanted to be alone. 

Finally, the events of the evening began to come back to his mind, he found himself tensing as he thought of how things had started so well, but had taken a sharp turn for the worse. He screwed his eyes shut for a moment and mentally shook himself, he had never truly wanted to kill another person before, but when Stane had mentioned hurting his aunt, he’d just completely lost it. He’d been so lost in his anger he hadn’t even noticed himself sending Mr. Stark flying across the room, probably injuring the man. 

He twisted his fingers together. It was a scary thought, one he had had before, but had never thought would truly be a threat until now. He, Peter Parker, was capable of murder. He felt his breathing quicken at the thought, not at all in excitement, but in a deep horror that sent a cold chill down his spine. And despite his still deep anger at Mr. Stark, he knew that the older man had been right to stop him. But a small part of him told him that this was not true, that he had the right to be angry at Mr. Stark, the man had tried to stop him from being Spider-Man once again. 

In an angry huff, he lifted his head to look out at the city, determined that he was right in his thinking. That huff died in his throat as he looked straight ahead at Stark tower, he had not been paying attention and had no idea how he had come to be near the other building. He watched on in some mortification as the Iron Man armour flew in and landed on the roof of the taller building. 

His mask came back over his head.

“Karen, enhanced reconnaissance mode.” He said quietly.

The suit zoomed in just in time for him to see Mr. Stark’s helmet melt back into the suit and the older man collapse slightly to the ground, and fall back onto the concrete wall behind him. Peter watched on, glad he could see the man through the buildings glass balcony. He felt his anger dissipate as he watched Mr. Stark. The man leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Peter watched on, his heart twisting as he saw a small, single tear fall out of Mr. Stark’s eye. He felt his own breath hitch a little as he remembered the conversation between Mr. Stark and Jeremiah Stane.

“Okay, Karen, that’s enough.” He said quietly, his own voice shaking a little.

He stared back at Stark tower, not being able to see Mr. Stark clearly now, but he felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He stood quickly, resolutely. 

He knew what he was going to do. And he knew how he was going to do it, he had, in fact, already put a plan into action. He ground his teeth together a little as he felt the resolves building in him.

He didn’t care how he did it, he was going to keep that man safe. It didn’t matter to him that Mr. Stark would yell at him, so be it, that’s just how it would be. But tonight, something had changed. He’d seen something in Mr. Stark that had deeply angered him, but only for a short while. He owed the man who had stopped him from becoming a murderer a debt of gratitude. 

He nodded to himself, assuring himself that this was the best course of action, and not even Tony Stark himself could stop him. 

 

Tony had sat on the roof of Stark tower for many hours, at some point, he had allowed the suit to creep back into the housing unit and simply sat against the wall in his formal suit. He was beyond exhausted. He had not slept properly since before the baby had been born, he had wanted to stay with Pepper for every long hour of her labour. Then, the bombings had begun, dragging him away from his little family and taking away from him any chance of getting sleep. Eventually, he had pushed himself up and ambled over to the lift, demanding Friday to take him to his personal quarters sometime just after one a.m. 

“Pepper?” He whispered loudly as he stepped out of the lift and looked down the darkened hall way, it was lit only by the surrounding New York lights that fell through the large living room windows on the opposite side.

He was a little relieved when he got no response, happy that at least one of them was getting a little rest. But he needed to ease that small part of his mind that was never satisfied until he saw her for himself. He walked down the hall quickly, but not totally balanced, his exhaustion making him stumble a little as though had been drinking. He arrived at their bedroom door and poked his head in, unconsciously squinting a little in the darker room. He waited for his eyes to adjust, and felt his shoulders relax a little when he saw her sleeping form.

A wave of weariness washed over him, nearly physically propelling him to the bed, but he resisted, wanting to see Morgan quickly before he called it a night. As if sensing that her father had returned, the little girl let out a loud cry. Tony cringed, watching as Pepper startled awake and groaned a little, pushing the covers back, clearly ready to go to the now crying child.

He rushed forward.

“Pep, Pep.” He whispered loudly as she turned the lamp on.

He saw her eyes widen a little as he walked around the bed towards her side and crouched next to her as she now sat at the edge.

“When did you get home?” She murmured sleepily, her eyes not quite open.

He left out a short puff, hoping she wouldn’t question the bruising on his face, and placed his hand on her knee.

“Just now. Look, go back to sleep. I’ll get her.” He said, already standing up to walk out. 

“Tony.” She said, catching the edge of his suit and stopping him, her voice quite low and gravely from sleep.

He stopped, looking down at her and she looked up at him with big, wide eyes.

“You haven’t slept in days. Please, just have a shower and sleep.” She pleaded softly.

He hesitated, the idea of being clean and then sleeping did sound enticing, but he was not fully convinced, Morgan’s cries still sounding through the apartment.   
“The baby..” he muttered, gesturing in the general direction of her room.

“She’ll be fine. I’ll get her and even bring her in here and you can hold her while she sleeps for a few minutes if that makes you feel better.” She said, obviously trying to convince him. 

He hesitated once again, but finally nodded. She pushed herself out of the bed and stood close to him, eye to eye. He looked down, knowing there was no way she could miss the extra bruises he had gained. He shut his eyes tightly when her hand traced a particularly sore spot on his jaw.

“These ones you got from Peter earlier.” She said softly, her other hand gently tracing over his left eye. “This is new.” She mumbled, her thumb brushing over the newest bruise.

He let out a shaky breath and stepped back from her, opening his eyes and meeting hers only for a few seconds. 

“Go and shower, Tony.” She said gently.

He nodded once again and headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He didn’t dare look in the mirror as he shoved off his suit, and ripped off the nano unit, throwing both across the room. And stepped into the shower. He rinsed quickly, knowing better than to linger in the warm water in his tired state. After a few minutes, he jumped out, dried off and wrapped a bath robe around himself, eagerly coming back into the bedroom and a small smile forming as he saw Pepper cradling the once again sleeping baby in her arms as she sat on the bed waiting for him. She sat on her side of the bed, leaning back against the head board, watching him walk around the bed so he could crawl into his side and be next to her. He sat next to her, also leaning back against the head board, and held out his arms to take the baby, who Pepper happily delivered to him. He sat contentedly for a few minutes, looking down at her precious face, but also fighting off the rising fatigue he felt.

A few moments later, he blinked his eyes open, the room was dark once again and he was now lying down, the baby no longer in his arms. He rolled over to face Pepper’s side, his heart pounding a little.

“Pep.” He mumbled.

He felt her stir as she turned to face him.

“Go back to sleep.” She muttered as she faced him, her eyes still closed. 

“Where’s Morgan?” He asked quickly, his eyes a little wide.

She didn’t open hers, just smiled a little, her face covered slightly by her pillows and the blanket.

“I put her back in her crib. You fell asleep while you were holding her.” She mumbled.

“Okay.” He whispered, watching her as she lay next to him.

He closed his eyes and shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable, but failing despite his desire for sleep.

“What is it?” Pepper asked suddenly, her voice still a little croaky. 

Tony opened his eyes again and found Pepper studying him.

“What?” He asked.

“What happened tonight?” she whispered.

He simply looked at her for a second, then rolled on his back, grunting a little and fighting back the unexpected tears that came to his eyes.

He felt the bed shift a little as Pepper moved closer to him, he finally looked at her again as she covered him slightly with her body in a comforting manner, her hand stroking through his hair and head resting on his chest. He instinctively wrapped an arm over her and used his other to gently stroke through her hair.

“Tony.” She pushed gently, “Please tell me.”

He took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, trying to focus on her hand in his hair.

“I don’t think we’ll be seeing Peter again.” He opened his eyes and craned his neck a little to look down at her. She was looking up at him with big, worried eyes. He closed his again and fell back onto the pillow. “It’s not like last time, Pepper. He isn’t just angry at me, he hates me.”

He lay in silence for a moment.

“He tried to kill someone, Pep.” He finally said, his voice a little shaky.

He heard her soft gasp.

“I stopped him, and he just took off.” He screwed his eyes closed, but was not able to stop the single tear that escaped. “I don’t think there’s any more chances for us.” He finished quietly, his voice soft and watery.

Pepper shifted slightly and pressed a gentle kiss onto his jaw.

“I’m sorry, Tony.” She murmured. “I’m so sorry.”

He simply lay there, taking shaky breaths as she continued to comfort him.

“We’ll get through this.” She said quietly.

He opened his eye and nodded slightly, wrapping both arms around her and holding her tight. He knew she was right. They would get through this, no matter how much it killed him inside.


	14. An Appropriate Course of Action

As Tony Stark lay in his tower, finally in a restful slumber after his talk with Pepper, Peter Parker swung through the streets of New York, his resolve strong and his heart sure of the task he had set before himself. He swung quickly and soon found himself nearing his apartment. He glanced around, making sure Benson 1 was not following him and no prying eyes were attempting to spy. When he was certain he could not be seen, he quickly jumped up the sides of the building and snuck back into the apartment through his window. Quickly, he allowed the Iron-Spider suit to retract into the chest piece, revealing the clothes Mr. Stark had given him beneath. He rushed through to the kitchen and quickly grabbed some frozen meals from the freezer and shoved one in the microwave while he stripped off and showered as quickly as he could, shoving on some clean clothes and returning to the kitchen just as his meal finished cooking.

He was starving, a normal occurrence for him. Although, around this time last year, when he had fallen into a short depressive state when he and Mr. Stark had parted way, he had eaten far less. But tonight, he was fired up and he knew he needed to energy. He was determined. This time tomorrow, he and Mr. Stark would put aside their differences and would stand side-by-side once again, he just knew it! He could sense it! He felt so alive and any weariness he had felt earlier had completely vanished. 

He finished eating quickly and rushed back to his room and suited up once more in the Iron-Spider suit.

“Karen.” He called, as soon as his mask was on and the heads-up display came forward.

“Hello Peter.” She greeted him.

“Hey, uh, you know how earlier I got into to a fight with the Jeremiah guy?” He asked, then cringed. Of course, she knew! “I, uh, put a tracking device on him? I took it off of my other suit, so, could you find that for me?”

“Of course, Peter. Tracking now.” She replied smoothly.

He watched as the screen showed him the tracking progress and frowned a little when the device finally showed up on the screen.

“Wait, Karen, are you sure this is where he is?” He asked, not quite believing his eyes.

“Yes, Peter. It would appear that Mr. Stane has returned to the same warehouse that you fought him in earlier.”

Peter’s brow crinkled a little.

“Wh-why would he do that?”

“Perhaps he thought that you wouldn’t think he would return?” Karen offered.

“Maybe.” Peter mused, he rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment and paced his bedroom, “Do you think he had any weapons stashed at that warehouse?”

“Most probably.”

Peter stopped.

“You mean we could have had him right there and then? And had evidence!”

“Not for certain, Peter.” Karen intervened before he grew annoyed at Mr. Stark once more. 

Peter nodded a little, letting out a breath.

“Oh, okay. Alright. Focus Peter.” He said to himself as he began pacing again. “Okay, so, he’s at the warehouse Mr. Stark and I found him in originally, where did he go when he escaped?”

“The tracker indicates that he flew to another warehouse on the other side of Queens.”

“Oh, so he retreated and then came back once we left.” Peter surmised. 

“It would appear so.” Karen agreed.  
“Okay, okay. Cool, cool, cool.” Peter said to himself quickly. “How long ago did he return there?”

“Five minutes.”

Peter stopped again. If he had only arrived five minutes ago, then he probably wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. If anything, he was probably planning another attack! Peter turned and jumped towards his window.

“We’ve got to go right now, Karen.” He said and he crawled through and shut the window behind him.

“Shall I call Mr. Stark?

“No! No. Don’t call him.” He said quickly, then felt he needed to explain himself, “This is something I’m doing for him. We don’t need to bother him.”

He swung out in the direction he had previously taken when had met Mr. Stark earlier, he frowned slightly as he noticed the darkness around him beginning to lift slightly.

“Karen, what time is it?”

“5:00am.”

“How is it five a.m?” he asked, a little shocked at how quickly the night had passed. “Never mind. How long until sun up?”

“twenty-four minutes.” She replied.

He frowned, he was not going to have the cover of darkness that he had hoped for.

“Okay. We’ll have to make do.” He said and picked up his speed, going as quickly as he could to the warehouse.

He arrived shortly after 5:10, the sky continuing to lighten around him despite his efforts to push himself faster, he walked over to the entrance that he and Mr. Stark had used earlier.

“Okay, Karen. Any one behind the door?” he asked

The head’s up display changed to show a heat signature crouching just behind the wall, a gun in his hand. Peter cringed, he knew what getting shot felt like, and he had no intention of experiencing that pain again.

“Looks like they’re expecting us.” He said quietly. “Up, up, and away!” he exclaimed quietly as he shot up to the roof of the building and landed as silently as he could. 

“Peter.” Karen said suddenly. “I am being contacted by Friday. Apparently, Mr. Stark wanted to be alerted when you arrived earlier, and has not turned off that feature on your suit.”

Peter rolled his eyes a little and let out a little huff.

“Pretty sure I broke his jaw so he won’t be joining us anytime soon.” He said, his voice a little sassier than usual. 

He walked across the brick rooftop towards a skylight ahead of him, he noticed a smashed pane of glass from where Mr. Stan had escaped earlier, the same one Peter had used to make his own exit. He snuck over to it, bending over slightly in case anyone saw him from the ground. He made it to the glass and peaked in, gasping as he saw what now filled the previously emptied room.

“What the hell.” He said quietly to himself.

There were metal creates everywhere, each having the Stark Industries logo on the side. On the other side of the room, an army of robots, similar to those of Mr. Stark’s iron legion. Peter felt a little current of fear drive through him as he looked at them.

“Karen, what are those?” He asked. “I mean, I know what they are. But how did Stane get a hold of the Iron Legion?”

His mask zoomed in on them and Karen highlighted the serial numbers on the sides.

“According to the Stark database, these were all damaged beyond repair and unable to return to Stark tower at some point a few years ago. It would appear that Mr. Stane has fixed them and reprogramed them.”

“Okay. Alright. Why would he do that? I mean, why would he try and threaten Mr. Stark for the Nano technology if he already has his own arsenal of suits and weapons? It doesn’t make any sense, he would still be able to carry out enough damage on the city and probably kill Mr. Stark without it!” 

He sat back from the sunroof just as the sun itself began to make its appearance. 

“Karen, what was it that Mr. Stane said? That he just wanted to see Mr. Stark hurt?”

“Yes, and if he couldn’t do that, he would aim for Mrs. Potts-Stark and Miss Stark.”

“Miss Stark?” Peter asked, making a confused face, then slapped himself on the head. “Of course, idiot. Morgan is a girl.”

He felt something like a wave of relief at that thought, though, he wasn’t sure why.

“Peter, perhaps the best plan of action is to simply stop Mr. Stane.” Karen suggested after peter had been quiet a moment too long.  
Peter nodded to himself.

“Yeah, good plan.” He agreed and crawled back to the sunroof. “Where is he?” He asked.

“It would appear that Mr. Stane is currently in the same office as earlier.” Karen supplied.

Peter stood up and jumped a few times, getting the blood pumping in his system.

“Okay, okay.” He said, swinging his arms a little, still jumping. “This is it Karen. We’re going in there and stopping this guy. We’re gonna save Tony Stark!” He said, his resolve remaining strong within him.

With that, he leaped forward and jumped through the hole in the roof, as he fell, he spun and shot his webbing up at a metal beam, allowing him to change the direction of his swing. He aimed for the hole in the office wall, the massive one he had created earlier when he had tackled Jeremiah Stane through it. He let go of his webbing and dove through, landing in a graceful somersault on the floor.

“Miss me?” He asked as he turned to see Jeremiah Stane jumping in his chair slightly.

The man was obviously un-prepared for his visit, his face conveying his deep shock as he clutched the edge of his desk.

“What the hell, kid!” The man snapped, his eyes sharp, but a little fear coming through at the return of the Spider-Man.

Peter stalked forward, fighting down the rising hatred in his throat at the sight of the man, reminding himself to remain in control. 

“Didn’t think I’d come back, did you?” Peter asked, as he stopped right before the man.

He lunged forward, grabbing the man’s wrist and trapping it on the desk, forcing the man to stay in his chair as he blocked him with his body. The man visibly swallowed in fear, his eyes darting around the room and breathing quickly.

Peter grinned slightly, a dark side of him rising again.

“No Tony Stark to save you now.” He jeered as he leaned closer.

The man cowered back as far as he could, almost shaking. Suddenly, his eyes flickered to the side, as though someone had walked in. He seemed to calm a little, and his sadistic smile returned.

“No, kid.” He sneered. “No Tony Stark to save you!”

Peter felt his senses tingle and spun around just in time to catch the arm of the man who had snuck up behind him. He felt his eyes widen at the sight of the knife in the masked man’s hand. Without hesitation, he grabbed the knife and held it in his own hand, pushing the new attacker back against the opposite wall of the office and webbing him there. He lunged across the room and punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. 

Panting, he jumped back and spun around to face Jeremiah Stane once more. To his horror, the chair was empty. He took a step forward and looked down the hall, smiling a little when he saw the older man springing towards the emergency exit. 

“When will they learn?” He mumbled to himself.

He began to run forward down the hall but found himself stopping quite suddenly as a loud, metal clunk sounded behind him. He turned in the darkened hall way, his eyes squinting a little, not strained by the dark, but in observation, as one of the Iron Legion robots strode towards him. He turned sharply as another clunk sounded before him. He narrowed his eyes further. He turned to his left and over the small railing the separated him from the large expanse of the warehouse several meters below. He found himself tensing as three more robots rose up, floating in the air a few feet away from the railing, closing him in. 

He clenched his fists, his knees slightly bent. He was ready for a fight, Jeremiah Stane had no idea what kind of hell he was in for once Peter got past this small obstacle. He had a mission, and nothing would stop him.

The two robots in front and behind him began to sprint towards him. He quickly turned so that his back faced the wall and held out both arms.

“Web grenade!” He called to Karen.

He shot out the webs, both of them landing on their targets, slowing them down but not fully stopping them.

He charged at one of them, and punched his fist straight through the chest piece. He allowed his arm to remain within and easily spun with the robot on his arm, wiping out the other still approaching robot with the metal legs of the other. We watched for a second as the robot fell backwards. Quickly, he lunged up, his arm still in the chest of one, and punched a significant dent in the other, enough that it was no longer working.

He felt something hit him in the back and knew that one of the floating robots had shot at him with a repulsor. He grunted and shook of the robots now lying uselessly on the ground. He spun around and quickly climbed the small railing, launching off the top bar and at the robot who he assumed had shot him. He screamed as he did. He landed with his legs wrapped around its waist and didn’t hesitate even a second before ripping its head off. The robot began to fall to the ground lifelessly, taking Peter with it. Thinking quickly, Peter aimed up at the ceiling and fired his webbing, saving him from the fall, despite the fact that he would have been mostly uninjured. 

As he rose up to the ceiling, he pulled his legs up to his chest and turned so that he would be facing the remaining two active robots. He held out his free arm.

“Karen, taser web left arm!” He cried.

He shot at one of the robots as he rose past it, and watched in triumph as it began to malfunction and also fall to the ground. Only one remained.

He let go of the webbing and dropped down, diving at the unmoving robot, the small wings on his suit helping him glide the short distance. He tackled the robot into the wall of the walk way, creating a large dent in the wall. With a loud cry, he punched through the chest piece and ripped the head off, throwing it violently down the hallway.

He spun around again, checking to ensure no other robots had been activated. There were none present, Peter narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Karen, what the fuck was that?”

“It would appear Mr. Stane activated the Iron Legion so he could make his escape.” Karen replied smoothly, although, a small undertone of sympathy was present. 

Peter threw his head back and groaned dramatically.

“Of course he would use a distraction!” He exclaimed throwing his hands up and then resting them on his hips. “Any idea on where he went?”

“Sorry, Peter. No.” Karen responded.

Peter let out an annoyed breath and stared down the hallway where Stane had made his escape. Finally, he turned back into the office and made his way to the desk, looking at it carefully. He noted that there were several papers on the desk, most of them bearing the Stark industries logo. His brow creased slightly as he picked them up, ensuring to get as many as he could into his hands. 

“What the hell.” He whispered to himself as he read them.

The first page he read was an approval form for the deployment of Stark weapons. Peter’s brow furrowed further as he read allowed to Karen.

“Shipment approved, 12th May, 2019.” He said slightly confused.

He looked down, Mr. Stark’s name was at the bottom, a signature scrawled underneath. Peter looked up and at the empty wall in front of him, nothing was making sense.

“Karen, it says Mr. Stark has signed, but, that doesn’t look like Mr. Stark’s signature, right?” He asked as he looked back down so Karen could get a good look.

“That’s correct Peter. This is not Mr. Stark’s signature.” She affirmed.

“Someone has tried to forge his signature on these.” Peter clarified to himself.

Suddenly, he heard a buzzing behind him. Instantly, he dropped the papers and turned, ready to attack whoever was behind him.

He breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw Benson 1 buzzing just outside the doorway, in the hall. 

“What the hell, Mr. Stark!” Peter exclaimed quietly to himself, knowing very well Mr. Stark could not hear him.

He quickly turned back to the table and grabbed two of the papers before turning back to the little drone as it continued to hover just outside the doorway. He quickly lifted his arm and shot some webbing at it, and pulled it back to himself. He held it in his hands rather carefully, knowing that the little drone was very special to Mr. Stark, even though he himself could not understand why. He smiled a little to himself.

“Better get you home, buddy.” He said.

With that he put the papers and Benson 1 in one hand, and ran towards the hole in the office wall, leaping out and shooting towards the ceiling, making his way out of Queens and purposefully towards Stark tower.


	15. Balance Restored

Peter swung purposefully toward Stark tower, a new plan developing in his mind as he swung forward through the city, he just desperately hoped that Mr. Stark was willing to be in the same room with him after the stunt he had pulled the previous night. 

When he was about two blocks away from stark tower, he dropped down into a darkened alleyway and allowed the suit to sink back into the housing unit, leaving him in a tight sports top, running shorts, and black tights that covered his feet. He just hoped no one would notice his lack of obvious shoes. He walked out of the alley way and quickly made his way toward the main entrance of Stark tower. He felt an odd mixture of anxiety and excitement as he walked through the automatic glass doors and found himself in the bustling reception area. It was here that he realised the flaw in his plan. He would either have to go to reception and have them ask the Stark’s if he could come up, or he could risk going straight to the personal lift and risk sweet talking his way in with Friday.

He frowned a little, he definitely did not want his arrival announced. He looked across the reception area and down a small hallway toward the lift. He nodded resolutely and walked as confidently as he could across the room, clutching little Benson 1 and the papers in both of his hands. He avoided eye contact as he did, though, he would have drawn less attention if he had smiled at those around him. He could feel the staff staring at him, all of them recognised him, and all of them knew of the massive falling out between him and Mr. Stark. He felt his ears warming in embarrassment as he quickened his pace and finally arrived at the lift. He hastily pushed the button, at least if he could get in the lift he could speak with Friday and be away from prying eyes. He waited a moment, the lift still did not come. He frowned and pushed the button again. He narrowed his eyes slightly and tried once more, still to no avail, it did not even light up to let him know the lift was coming.

“What the hell, Friday, let me in.” He said quietly, his eyes looking back at the reception area where he knew more than a few employees were watching him out of the corner of their eyes. 

The lift opened suddenly, startling him slightly.

“Oh, okay.” He mumbled and stepped in, watching as the doors closed behind him.

“Um, hi, Friday?” He greeted a little uncertainly.

“Hello, Peter.” Friday greeted back warmly. Peter swore he could almost hear a smile in her voice.

“Um, do you think you could please take me to Mr. Stark’s personal quarters? I mean, if I’m blocked from there, do you think you could at least get him on the intercom?” He asked sheepishly, still clutching the little drone and the papers in his hands.

“You still have all access to Stark tower, Peter. I would be delighted to take you to the personal quarters.” She responded as the lift began to rise.

Peter’s eyes widened. Mr. Stark had never cut off his access to him! An anxious thought crossed his mind.

“Hey, Friday?”

“Yes, Peter.”

He took a hesitant breath before asking his next question.

“Do you, uh. Will they be okay with me just dropping in like this?” He asked, his eyes falling to the ground.

“Based on interactions between Mr. Stark and Mrs. Potts-Stark over the last year, I believe they will be over joyed by your visit.” Friday replied.

Peter felt his shoulders relax just a little, and he took a deep breath and he felt the lift stop at the personal floor of the Stark’s.

“Wish me luck, Fri.” He said quietly as the doors opened.

“Good luck, Peter.” She softly as he tentatively stepped out and into the large living room. 

He looked around him, nothing had really changed in the apartment in the year that he had been gone. There were the large windows of the living room, allowing the morning light to pour in, the long couch facing the t.v. He could see the corner of the island bench in the kitchen from where he stood, and if he turned to his left, he could see the hallway that led to his old bedroom. He stared down the hallway for a second, his eyes focussing on Mr. Stark’s slightly opened bedroom door. He frowned a little, wondering if he had come too early and if he should perhaps leave and come back another time. 

He walked forward slightly, dragging his eyes away from the hallway and taking in the living room. He had an overwhelming sense of finally being at home. He clutched the drone and the papers a little tighter in his hand and he walked around the room a little, just remembering better times.

Suddenly, he heard a noise from the kitchen area. He froze at the sound of a chair being pushed back against wooden flooring. His heart beat heavily in his chest as a rush of anxiety overcame him, nearly propelling him back to the lift. He found himself unable to move though, frozen as he watched through the kitchen doorway, waiting for whoever it was to come into view. 

He could hear their footsteps as they approached the island bench, they needed to walk past it to place their dishes in the sink, something Mr. Stark was very picky about. He always became a little grumpy when people left dishes lying around, regardless of whether it was Pepper or a first-time guest. 

He felt a shaky breath leave his lungs as he watched Pepper walk past the island bench and heard her place her bowl in the sink. He closed his eyes for a second and took several deeper breaths, gathering the courage to walk forward. He opened his eyes and slowly walked to the doorway, but found he could go no further. He stood frozen once again, simply holding the little drone and the papers. He opened his mouth uselessly as he watched her rinse off her bowl and place it in the drying rack.

“Pepper.” He finally croaked out, still standing tense in the doorway.

She shrieked a little and jumped back slightly as she turned and saw him standing there, her eyes wide and body tense for a second. But she seemed to almost immediately relax, her worried face falling into a genuine smile.

“Peter!” She exclaimed quietly as she remained standing next to the sink, her eyes shining happily.

Peter had no idea how to respond, his anxiety still heavy over him despite Pepper’s happy reaction. He opened his mouth again, but closed it quickly, biting his lip.

She seemed to sense his agitation and let out a gentle laugh before walking towards him. She stood before him for a moment, simply taking him in as she reached out and rested a hand on his arm.

“You’ve grown!” She said, stepping back slightly to take him in.

He felt himself relax a little and let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. 

“Um, yeah.” He agreed nervously, a small laugh escaping him as he looked at the woman before him. He couldn’t help but notice that Pepper looked very tired, probably due to the fact that she just had a baby and her husband was being threatened by a terrorist.

She simply smiled up at him for a moment before lunging forward and pulling him into a bone crushing hug, trapping his arms and the little drone between them. As suddenly as she pulled him in, she let him go, her face lighting up with some thought.

“Wait here!” She said quickly. “Tony will be so happy to see you!” She said as she brushed past him out the door.

He turned dumbly, watching her almost skip through the living room towards the hallway. He felt his brief moment of happiness fade as he realised he would have to face Mr. Stark. He tensed all over again, wondering if the man would in fact be happy, as Pepper had suggested. He could hear her calling down the hallway.

“Tony! Tony! Wake up! Peter’s here!” She called, excitement showing clearly in her voice.

Peter felt his breath coming quickly, and found his feet shuffling out of the kitchen and back into the living room. He closed his eyes, unintentionally hearing every word spoken between Pepper and Mr. Stark, the conversation caused him to close his eyes as a tear of relief fell down his cheek.

 

Tony lay on his stomach in the middle of the bed, still fast asleep and still dressed in his bathrobe, not having changed after his shower. He was beyond exhausted and his body seemed to be taking advantage of the one time he decided to lie down. 

He grunted slightly as he felt someone shaking his shoulder, he pushed his shoulder back to get them to leave. He was very comfortable, and his brain was finally too tired to jump on any threat that could be causing someone to wake him.

He felt them shake his shoulder again, and Pepper’s excited voice broke through a little, though, he didn’t catch any of what she said.

Finally, he groaned and rolled onto his side so he could face her as she sat on his side of the bed, gesturing wildly, the only thing that seemed to break through into his sleepy brain for a second was her beaming smile, something he had not seen in days. He found himself smiling like an idiot at the sight of it, even if he wasn’t sure what she was so happy about. She was rambling on about something, but his brain was still trying to wake up.

Finally, becoming too confused to even pretend to understand, he flopped out a hand and it landed on her wrist, causing her to finally cease speaking.

“Pep.” He mumbled, happy to see her happy, but oh so confused. “I’m sorry, I’m still- just give me a sec.” He groaned as he stretched out, yawning loudly.

Pepper gave him an incredulous look.

“You didn’t hear anything I just said?” She asked, her eyes still wide.

He shook his head a little, his brain finally joining him in the land of the living. 

“Not a clue.” He admitted.

She just rolled her eyes, but never lost her smile. Getting up from the bed she walked into the closet and picked up some track pants and threw them at him from across the room. He grunted slightly as they landed on his face.

“Wha-“

“Tony. Peter is here!” She said. “Put on some pants and go and see him!”

Tony froze, his eyes widening a little. He turned and sat up in the bed quickly, staring at Pepper for a second, trying to read her before looking at their slightly opened door towards where he assumed Peter was.

“Pete’s here?” he asked dumbly, still just holding the pants in his hands. 

She nodded and picked out a plain white t-shirt and threw it at him.

“Get dressed!” She exclaimed, obviously excited.

He caught the shirt before it landed on his face, he lowered it and turned back to stare at her.

“Pep. If you’re pulling some elaborate prank on me then just know it’s not funny and I will divorce you.” He said seriously.  
She rolled her eyes and swore under her breath.

“Just put your pants on.” She said as she walked out of the closet and back to her side of the bed, taking something out of her bedside table drawer. 

Still sitting on the bed, Tony shoved on the pants and the shirt, still eyeing Pepper suspiciously.

“I’m not lying Tony. He’s here, in the kitchen. I told him to wait there while I got you. You’ve taken so long to wake up he’s probably aged twenty years!” She said dramatically as she put her contacts in without needing a mirror. 

He looked up at her and crawled over to her side of the bed, kneeling slightly as she stood next to the bed.

“Pep. Is he actually here? Because you know what I told you last night don’t you? I swear, if he’s not there…”

“Oh my goodness!” She cut him off with a small chuckle that undermined her irritated tone. “Just fucking go and talk to him!” She exclaimed, pointing at the door.

“But, Pepper. What if he isn’t here for a good reason, I mean, he was so mad last night.” Tony rambled. “What if he just came to yell some more, or what if he just wants another fight. Pepper, I can’t do this.” He said, his breathing becoming rather fast and heavy.

Pepper watched him, concern filling her face as he began to panic. She stepped forward and placed a small hand on his shoulder and sat next to him on the bed, rubbing her thumb over his tense muscles as he took deep shaking breaths, his eyes wide.

“Tony. Tony. Look at me.” She said in a firm tone.

He took a second, but his head finally moved in her general direction, not meeting her gaze, but she took what she could get,

“Tony, you love that kid just as much as you love Morgan.” She said softly.

His breathing calmed just a little and he nodded slightly, leaning into her touch.

“He loves you too. So right now, what you need to do, is take some deep breaths and go and say hello.” She said.

He let out a final, shaky breath, but then finally met her eyes and nodded.

“I do love him.” He finally admitted quietly.

Pepper smiled and let her head drop onto his shoulder.

“Go and see him then.” She said, lifting her head and dropping a kiss on his cheek.

He nodded once more, before pulling his feet out from under himself and clambering off the bed. He stood and walked resolutely to the half shut door, pausing before he pulled it open.

“Sorry I said I would divorce you.” He said quietly, a little smile on his face.

She rolled her eyes.

“You couldn’t live without me.” She joked, but her face became serious once again. “Joke about it again and I’ll murder you myself.”

He let out a soft chuckle and opened the door. He looked down the hall and felt his face soften in disbelief as he saw Peter standing in the living room, his hands tightly clutching Benson 1 and some random Papers.

 

Peter opened his eyes, quickly wiping away the escaped tear as he heard the bedroom door finally re-open. His heart was pounding quickly as he saw Mr. Stark, looking rather dishevelled, staring at him.

He felt a little smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He felt it in his heart, this one was different, there wouldn’t be any more fighting or screaming. He couldn’t explain why, but something had happened over the last two days, everyone he loved had been attacked, and now, Mr. Stark was next on that list, and he would do anything to keep that man safe, so there was no need for him to hold onto his grudge.

“Mr. Stark,” He began, walking without even thinking towards where the other man stood frozen in the doorway. “I’m so sorry. I know that we’ll disagree, but I’m so sorry that I let it get in the way of everything.”

Mr. Stark finally unfroze when Peter was only a meter or two away, his happily surprised face contorted into a frown and he crossed his arms across his chest, causing Peter to hesitate when he finally stopped just short of the man.

Mr. Stark looked up at him, his jaw jutting a little, looking rather defensive despite his earlier words that Peter had definitely over heard.

“You okay, Pete?” He asked, his voice gentle despite his hard eyes.

Peter jerked his head back a little, that last piece of hope wilting a little in his chest.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just-“ He cut himself off, looking down slightly as he felt caught off guard by Mr. Stark’s attitude change. Could he have misheard the man wrong? He looked back up and held out Benson 1 a little. “I just wanted to return this to you.” He said sheepishly. 

Mr. Stark’s eyes darted down to the little drone before flicking back up to Peter’s and he slowly uncrossed his arms, stretching out a hand as if to take the drone from him. Suddenly, his hard expression cracked and a giant, teary smile slipped through. He pushed past the drone and pulled Peter into his arms, holding him tightly.

Peter huffed out a surprised breath, his arms once again trapped as he still held the drone and the papers.

Mr. Starks head rested on his shoulder.

“Kid, I thought we were finished for good.” The man said quietly.

Peter looked into the room as Mr. Stark hugged him and couldn’t hold back a chuckle as he saw Pepper taking a picture on her phone, her own eyes a little teary. He sighed slightly, and then rested his head against Mr. Stark’s for a moment before purposefully stepping back. Mr. Stark kept his hands on Peter’s arms as though he were afraid Peter would simply disappear, his eyes darted back down to the drone and the papers that he held.

“As much as I’m loving our little reunion.” Mr. Stark said, his usual tone returning, “I’m assuming you came here for another reason as well?”

Peter nodded, eyes darting down, wondering if he should be ashamed for coming with ulterior motives.

“Um, I found these papers at the warehouse.” He said, his eyes going past Mr. Stark and to Pepper as he noticed her coming forward to join them now that their moment had passed. She leaned against Mr. Starks arm, her head on his shoulder as she looked down at the papers Peter held.

Mr. Stark took Benson 1 from his hands, cradling it slightly as they waited for Peter’s explanation.

He hesitated, biting his lip as he glanced between the two.

“Maybe, uh, we should sit down?” He suggested quietly.

Mr. Stark and Pepper shared a look, before both agreeing that this was an excellent idea, and leading the way back to the kitchen, all of them sitting around the small dining room table. Peter sat in his old spot, Mr. Stark at the head of the table, and Pepper across from him. He noticed, for the first time, the presence of a high chair in the spot that would have normally remained empty when the three of them sat.

“So what are these?” Pepper asked, gesturing to the papers that Peter had laid out on the table.

“Well, I’m not sure.” He admitted, looking over at Mr. Stark who was idly toying with his beloved drone, his eyes remaining on Peter as he spoke, “I found them last night. I uh, went back to the warehouse and they were on the desk.’ He explained, he felt his cheeks heat up a little as he did not explain the whole story, keeping details of his fight to himself.

He pushed the papers over the table to Pepper, who took them graciously, her brow creasing a little as she read aloud for the sake of Mr. Stark.

“Tony, this is crazy. These papers have you listed as CEO and signed just a few months ago.” She looked over to her husband, he looked as though he was deep in thought. “They say that you approved the shipment of weapons to Jeremiah Stane and have even attempted to forge your signature on the bottom.”

Mr. Stark leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed slightly, still fiddling with the drone.

“What does this mean?” Peter asked, leaning forward slightly.

“It means,” Mr. Stark said, leaning forward in the seat, “That Jeremiah means to have all the bases covered. If he fails at getting myself, Pep, Morgie or you, he’ll at least have some form of evidence that I was the one that planted the bombs. That way he can, at the very least, destroy my reputation.” 

“Oh.” Peter said, feeling a little silly for not having realised this sooner.

Pepper frowned.

“That makes no sense, everyone knows you’re not the CEO.” She offered tightly.

“It doesn’t matter, the media can be easily bought and manipulated.” Mr. Stark said back quickly.

“Yes, but I don’t think people are that stupid.” Pepper replied.

Peter frowned, he’d seen them disagree on a few occasions, and he always felt uncomfortable, no matter how small the disagreement was.

“Then you’re severely over-estimating the population.” Mr. Stark replied.

“No, Tony,” Pepper bit back, turning slightly in her chair to face him, “You’re throwing this on yourself when you could get a step ahead of him and have the truth re-affirmed before he publishes a lie.”

Mr. Stark edged forward, he his hands beginning to make sharp gestures toward Pepper.

“No, Pep. Listen. There are people out there who hate us. It doesn’t matter how much we do to help the world, there will always be people who hate us. And I can’t let this happen to you.”

Pepper rolled her eyes.

“Tony. Listen to yourself! Look around the room, you’re not alone here! I am more than capable of handling this and so is Peter!” She exclaimed, gesturing over to where Peter still sat rather awkwardly. 

“No!” Mr. Stark snapped, his fist hitting the table

“Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about the say!” Pepper said quickly, cutting him off before he could say anything. “Peter is stronger than you and frankly, he is just as smart. Don’t even think about excluding him from this!”

“You don’t understand!” Mr. Stark bit back, his hard eyes glued on Pepper.

“No, it’s you who doesn’t understand!” She snapped. “You act as though we’re all reliant on you! As though you’re the only one who can protect us!”

Peter sucked in his breath a little at her words. She had finally articulated the very thing that Peter had been afraid to the think, much less, say.

“Pep.” Mr. Stark said in a gentler tone, “That’s not-“

“No, let me finish!” She spoke over him. “I get that you’ve lost people and I’ve been there with you through some of it. I get it. I’ve lost people too, and so has Peter. But things like this are out of your control. And if you try to stop us from helping you, well, you’ll end up just pushing us away, even if that’s not what you intended to do.”

Peter held his breath as Pepper finished, he looked steadily at his hands as they sat on the table. However, he looked up in surprise as, after a long silence, Mr. Stark sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

He mumbled something under his breath.

“Oh, what, what did you say?” Pepper asked.

Peter lifted his eyes as he saw Mr. Stark staring at his drone, looking a little flushed in the face.

“You’re right.” Mr. Stark admitted begrudgingly.

Pepper seemed genuinely speechless for a moment, before she cleared her throat and clasped her hands together on the table. Peter had heard them disagree before, but most of the time they normally found a middle ground, or one would force their hand. He’d seen it happen when Pepper would force Mr. Stark into meetings or out of the lab, or when Mr. Stark would force his hand and simply not show up for meetings or hide in the lab for days on end. But he had never heard either of them admit that the other was right. 

“Well, uh.” Pepper began, “Maybe we should create a plan of action.” She said.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat and hummed his agreement, not taking his eyes off of the drone.

“We should stop any more attacks before they begin.” Pepper went on, causing Peter to turn his wide-eyed gaze on her. He’d never seen her plan attacks, and he wondered if she did it a lot more than Mr. Stark let on. “You and Peter spend the afternoon getting your hands on every piece of evidence you can to prove these are fake.” She continued, gesturing to the papers, “Then, let’s find out everything we can about Stane. After that, you two go and take him down. Quickly, just hand him over to the police, no deaths.”

Peter turned towards Mr. Stark, the other man studied his drone for another moment before lifting his head and meeting Peter’s gaze.

“Sound good?” Pepper asked, looking between the two.

Peter turned back to her.

“Sounds good.” He agreed.

“Tony?” She asked.

He looked up at her, plastering on a charming smile.

“Sound’s good, hun.” He agreed.


	16. Holy Shit

Peter sat cross legged at the end of Ned’s hospital bed, MJ was squeezed in next to him, their arms brushing as they faced their friend. Each of them held a varying number of uno card’s in their hands, and there lay an ever growing pile of cards in the centre of the bed.

After his chat with Pepper and Mr. Stark, Peter had asked if he could get a ride to the hospital to see Ned and MJ before he and Mr. Stark got stuck in the lab for the rest of the day. He had been a little surprised when they had both agreed to this, and Mr. Stark himself had driven him and now sat in the small waiting room down the hall, playing on his phone as Peter chatted with his friends. He had told Mr. Stark he wouldn’t be long, but the older man had told him to take at least two hours to just be with his friends. Peter suspected that Mr. Stark was not merely playing on his phone, he was probably already neck deep in research. 

“Uno!” MJ cried as she held her final card close to her chest, snapping Peter out of his thoughts.

Ned gave her a fake glare as he looked down at the multitude of cards in his hands. Peter grimaced also, still holding five cards.

“How?” Ned whined.

MJ grinned over at him.

“Pure talent!” She said proudly.

Ned and Peter both rolled their eyes, but Peter affectionately nudged her shoulder lightly with his own, despite the competitiveness that was rising within him.

“So, Mr. Stark drove you over here?” Ned asked as he looked down at his cards, trying to choose one that would throw MJ off, but not destroy Peter’s chances of being able to put down a card. 

“Uh, yeah.” Peter simply said.

“So, you guys are good now?” MJ asked, clearly not quite believing him.

“Um, I guess so?” Peter replied, looking down at his cards.

Ned and MJ shared a look.

“So when did this happen?” Ned asked, finally placing a wild card down. “And blue.” He added, grinning when MJ groaned dramatically.

Peter stared at his cards for a moment. He could definitely understand why they were caught off guard by this. He and Mr. Stark had spent a whole year not even speaking, then spent a few days screaming and fighting, only to suddenly appear on good terms. 

“This morning. I went over to their place. Honestly though, it was all Pepper. You guys should have seen her, she nearly lost her shit at him when he was about to say I couldn’t join him.” He said quickly, selecting a blue reverse card and placing it on the pile, earning another eye roll and groan from MJ.

“Ha, I would love to have seen that.” MJ snorted.

Peter cringed slightly, watching as Ned placed another blue card onto the pile.

“Nah, it’s actually kinda scary.” He admitted. “They’re both so strong willed and just as smart and hard headed as each other. Although, she is pretty much the only person who stands up to him.”

“How are they even together?” Ned mused as Peter shuffled his cards slightly, before placing a red number card on Ned’s blue one, eliciting a groan from MJ as she picked up another card from the pile, she recovered quickly though.

“’Cause they’re hot.” She said simply.

Peter jerked his head back a little and fake gagged.

“Dude, that’s his dad you’re talking about!” Ned joked.

Peter felt his face go bright red, suddenly very conscious that Mr. Stark was in the same building as them. 

MJ snorted slightly, clearly amused by Peter’s embarrassment.

“Who would you rather, Ned? Iron Man or Pepper?”

Ned gave her serious look, and put his cards down slightly, his eyes flicking over to Peter.

“MJ, I’m not going to answer that. I really respect Peter and he’s clearly embarrassed that you think his parents are hot.” He ended with fake seriousness, earning a severe eye roll from Peter.

Ned lowered his voice.

“But one hundred percent, Tony is hot.” He whispered to MJ. 

“Ooh!” MJ cried loudly, shoving Peter’s arm.

Peter felt his face turn a shade brighter, and he grumpily threw his cards down and drew his knees to his chest.

MJ seemed to sense that she had pushed the joke too far and immediately responded.

“Sorry, Peter.” She said sincerely. “I pushed it too far.”

“Yeah, sorry dude.” Ned chimed in as well, his face earnest. 

He relaxed the grip his arms had around his knees and looked at her with a small smile, accepting her apology, knowing that she cared deeply, she just pushed a joke too far sometimes. 

“It’s okay. Let’s just not go there?”

They nodded in agreement, and fell into a comfortable silence.

“So, are you going to track this guy down?” Ned asked, handing Peter his cards back from where they had been scattered over the bed, ignoring that fact they he and MJ had seen most of them.

Peter accepted them and re-organised them in his hands.

“Yeah, I hope so. I mean, it would be nice to get this guy off of the streets.” Peter answered calmly.

MJ placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“We believe in you Peter.” She encouraged him gently.

He looked over at her and gave her a gentle smile.

“Thanks, MJ.” He said quietly.

 

A few hours later, the two sat in silence in Tony’s lab. Tony couldn’t help but occasionally glance up at Peter, frowning a little. He remembered a time when they had worked in comfortable silence, but now, even though they were on better terms than they had been in a year, there was just a hint of tension in the air, as though one wrong move, one badly formed sentence, could send the whole thing crashing down. 

He bit the inside of his cheek slightly and pulled his head back down to his desk, where a holographic display was showing him all of the information he could get his hands on. Peter sat across from him, looking over the papers he had managed to gather form the warehouse. Tony couldn’t help the tug in his heart as he watched Peter out of the corner of his eye, the boy was wearing a pair of his high-tech glasses, and he could see the small display on the lenses.

He shook his head and pulled his full attention back to the screen before him, forcing his eyes to focus, but finding himself looking back over at Peter repeatedly. He let out a dramatic sigh and pushed himself back and swung to the side, getting off of the stool. He walked over to his desk and just stood in front of it for a moment, lowering his head and massaging his brown with his hand for a moment. 

“You okay?” Peter asked, looking over at him, slightly adjusting the glasses on his face.

Tony turned and shot him a small smile

“Yeah, fine kid.” He replied before biting his lip a little.

Peter studied him for a second, before returning his gaze back down to the desk where he was writing notes on an old paper pad. Tony saw his eyes occasionally shooting up, but ducking back down when he realised Tony was still watching him. He let out a sigh and went back to the bench, fall back into his stool. He cleared his throat and looked back down at the holographic display before him.

“So, uh. What changed your mind?” Tony asked, breaking the silence that had once again fallen between them.

Peter glanced up, but quickly lowered his eyes back to the paper pad before him and worried his lip a little. Tony remained silent, waiting for his response.

“What do you mean?” Peter finally asked.

Tony looked over at him, his hand pausing mid-air as he was about to begin typing.

“You were damn nearly about to kill that guy and you were definitely not wanting me around anymore. Why the sudden change?”

Peter finally lifted his head once again and put down his pen, slowly reaching up and pulling of the thin rimmed glasses. He ran a hand through his hair hesitantly and looked over the desk, not quite ready to meet Tony’s gaze.

“Um.” He began, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Something Stane said.”

Tony felt his brow crease a little and leaned forward, waiting for the kid to continue.

“What was it?” He pushed, watching Peter carefully.

Peter met his eyes for a second before he dropped them back down.

“Just, you know. Sometimes I forget that you have lost people.” He shot his eyes up to Tony, struggling to maintain eye contact. “I got so caught up in my own desire to protect the people that I loved that I didn’t realise you were doing the same thing. Like, I guess, you couldn’t protect your parents, I couldn’t protect mine.”

Tony dropped his eyes down to the table as Peter said this.

“You’ve had so many people try and kill you, it’s actually a little bit insane. And you nearly lost Pepper and Happy. Then there was that thing with you and Cap!” Peter began speaking quickly, as though he were afraid Tony would interrupt him, he took a deep breath and purposefully slowed his speech. “I guess it took us so long to finally stop fighting. Because we were fighting for the same thing, but we were both in each other’s way. I wanted to protect you, but you wanted to protect me. I wanted to protect Ned and MJ and May, but you have your own people. Happy, Pepper, Morgan and, maybe me, I guess.”

Tony closed his eyes for a moment as he listened to Peter’s words and mulled them over. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked right at Peter.

“You know, there was a time when I wouldn’t have cared.” He said, attempting to sound unaffected, but failing miserably. “At least, that’s what I would have told myself. God, I thought when I left behind the weapons manufacturing that all the bad shit in my life would stop and that I would get some good in return for my actions.”

He chuckled sadly and shook his head.

“Nope. Not how it works. Pete, I’ve murdered so many people, sent over so many weapons and destroyed so many lives that nothing I could do in this world would ever balance out the pain I’ve caused. And after Thanos, well, I thought maybe, just maybe, they would see me as a changed man, they would finally understand that I’m just trying to protect them.”

He pushed his stool back suddenly and stood, watching as Peter’s eyes widened slightly, clearly expecting a berating. He clutched the edge of the desk tightly, feeling a horribly familiar sensation crawling through his throat. 

“I know, Peter, that I’m at least part of the reason that the world is so fucked up. I spent half of my life becoming rich by killing people, and so it gets a little hard for me to understand why people would even want to be around me let alone want to fight alongside me.” He dropped his head down and smacked his fist on the table, fighting back a rising heat in his throat. He breathed deeply through his nose. 

“Mr. Stark, are you okay?” Peter’s small voice came through as a ringing began in his ears.

He stood up suddenly and knew that he looked angry, but it was better than allowing the kid to see what was really happening in him.

“I’m fine.” He snapped, wincing as he saw Peter flinch a little. He took a deep breath and willed his rising anxiety down, forcing himself to focus on anything else in the room and remove himself from the words he was saying. 

“Peter. I’m sorry that we pushed each other away and we can keep talking about it later, but right now we have terrorist to find.”

Peter gave him a confused look, not quite tracking the jump in topics. But he mumbled his agreement and placed the glasses on his face.

Tony closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before sitting back down and looking at the display.

“What have you got so far?” He asked, breathing heavily.

Peter’s eyes jumped back up, looking at Tony with deep concern. The boy cleared his throat slightly as he plunged into his findings

“Um, well. I have all the stuff that we already knew. Jeremiah Stane, same age as you, born 1970. Has a kid of his own, Matthew Stane, born 1995. According to all the information Friday has collected, Obadiah left all of his possessions and wealth to his son, that included two warehouses in Queens.” Peter looked down at his notepad as he continued spilling out the information. “When I looked at the Stark Industries server a few nights ago and discovered that most of the weapons had at least some copies stolen, I realised that if Obadiah left all of his possessions to Jeremiah, then that probably included the weapons. That means that we can certainly rule out the forgeries of your signature. They are clearly poorly thought out red-herrings to throw us off of the trail to track him down and stop him.”

Peter looked back up at Tony and took the glasses off of his face, eyes fixed on the older man.

“What do you think?” He asked.

Tony frowned, this wasn’t adding up.

“I had Friday look into the documentation that you found. We’re right and we’re wrong. This certainly isn’t my signature.” He paused for a second, not sure how to break it to Peter, “But also, it kind of is.”

Peter’s brow creased slightly and leaned forward.

“How is it not your signature, but also your signature?” He asked.

“Not sure.” Tony replied quietly. “I had Friday run a scan over them, she’s finishing just now and has been sending me updates on my screen here. Interesting thing is, the weapons were meant to be delivered to a certain address, completely bypassing the warehouses, but they’ve retracted that information and covered it with something I’ve never seen before, almost as if the information did not exist. Friday is looking into it.”

Peter frowned and leaned back slightly in the stool he sat in.

“Just to be clear.” Peter said, reaching out hand in front of him slightly. “You didn’t approve the shipment. Right?” 

Tony’s gaze immediately hardened.

“No, of course I didn’t” He snapped.

Peter held out his hands in a calming manner.

“Okay, okay. It’s cool. It’s just the whole signature thing is throwing me off.” He said quickly.

“Boss, I have something.” Friday announced to the room.

“Okay, Fri, send it to my screen.” Tony said, his eyes snapping from Peter back to his desk. He almost growled when the information didn’t come up.

“I believe this is something Mr. Parker will also benefit from knowing.” Friday said.

“Yeah, okay. Just tell us Fri.” Tony snapped.

“Based on the documents that Peter gathered from the warehouse, none of the weapons were ever delivered there. They were all delivered directly to the sites of the bombings.” Friday said, her voice ending as though she was about to deliver some terrible news.

Peter and Tony shared and odd look. The elder frowned as even he saw the hairs on Peter’s arms stand up. He was sensing something.

“What is it Friday?” He asked, keeping his eyes on Peter.

“Boss, it would appear the next recipient of the weapons is one Anthony Stark, Stark Tower, New York.”

Tony felt the blood drain from his face, and saw almost the same thing happening to Peter.

“Holy Shit.” The kid whispered.


	17. Near Miss

Tony Stark was not a man with a plan, he very rarely had things planned out. Most of the time when he had plans, they fell apart around him. He knew this, and so he built contingencies to safeguard against his weaknesses. He had his suits and every little gadget a person could ever want to defend himself. He had Pepper to run the company. He had Friday to run the tower. He had Happy to watch out for the people he loved. And right now, all of his contingencies relied upon him having a plan of attack right here in this moment.

“Friday, order an evacuation. I want the tower cleared in the next half hour.” He barked, reaching out for a nano housing unit on the table next to him, he placed it on his chest without even thinking. “Kid, suit up. Get as many people out as you can.”

Pete nodded and tapped his chest, the suit spread over him quickly and he ran from the room and out of the glass doors of the lab, into the waiting lift. Tony waited until it closed around him before he suited up.

“Testing coms. Kid you getting this?” He asked quickly.

“Loud and clear Mr. Stark. Heading to the top floors to assist with evac.” Came his quick response into the head piece. 

Tony nodded to himself as his heads up display came to life, he looked around the lab, his eyes resting on the papers. There was no way he would let them go, he was not only intrigued, but knew that he would need them if any accusations were made against him.

“Friday, save copies of the papers onto my secure server and backup onto Peppers. Contact Karen and save a copy onto Pete’s suit as well.”

“Yes boss.” She said quickly, then after a brief pause. “Files saved.”

“Good.” He said and allowed his repulsors to pick him off of the floor as he flew towards one of the walls of the lab, one of the only solid, non-glass walls in the lab. “Open!” He called.

A small slot opened in the wall and he flew through effortlessly, gliding from the inside of the lab to the exterior of the tower, very close to the top. He flew up higher to get a better vantage point of the tower.

“Friday, scan the tower, external, internal and structural. If nothing shows we’ll look at body heat signatures.” He said as calmly as he could.

The display changed, showing him and outlined view of the tower. Nothing unusual showed up. He frowned to himself, he had been hoping this would be easy.

“How’s evac going, Pete?” He asked as he scanned over the tower once more, this time looking at the internal rooms within. He had to circle the tower a little, he looked down to see hundreds of employees pouring out of the reception doors and into the streets.

“Yeah, good. Still some people on the mid and upper levels coming down.” He replied quickly.

“Okay, just get them out quickly. Have Happy get the feds to clear the area. If the tower goes down that’s hundred, maybe thousands injured or dead, even if no one is in the building.” He said in a hard voice, a small part of him wanting Peter to feel the gravity of the situation even more than he currently was.

“On it!” The kid exclaimed.

“No unusual activity on upper and mid-levels. Friday let’s scan the parking garage.” He said as he steered himself down. 

The suit began to scan, highlighting in green areas that were clear. Suddenly, four little red dots appeared on the HUD.

“Got something boss. Four explosive devices at each foundational corner of the building.”

Tony felt his eyes widen. This was bad, far worse than he expected. He had designed the building to be able to withstand basic attacks, but after 2012, he had reinforced most of the internal structure to be able to withstand alien attack. The building could probably survive and even be repairable if one or even two bombs detonated, but any more and the thing would surely implode. He cursed himself, knowing that the weapons used had probably been designed to take down large buildings, and, that he himself had probably bragged about their capabilities at some point. 

“Shit.” He finally let out. “Pete. I found the devices. Hurry up on evac. I don’t know how much time we have; they’re probably rigged for remote detonation.’ He said hurriedly

“Oh crap!” Peter called back, sounding a little out of breath. “Hey, I don’t want to stress you out more, but I haven’t seen Pepper or Morgan come out yet and I’m nowhere near the apartment.” He said, his voice a little high.

Tony froze, his blood running cold as the suit levitated in the air.

“Fuck. What do you mean? They should have been the first ones out.” He snapped, a little annoyed that Peter hadn’t prioritised their safety. 

“I-I-‘m sorry! But I figured Pepper could get Morgan out, she’s a smart lady, she would have-“

“Peter, shut the fuck up!” Tony barked, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes for a second and he pushed the suit to fly up the side of the tower the window he knew led into his living room. “Fri, open living room window!” He snapped.

He zoomed towards the window, it didn’t move.

“Fri. Window! Now!” He yelled.

“It would appear the window is malfunctioning.” Friday responded.

“Then fucking override it before I smash glass all over the people below!” He screamed as he slowed, realising the window was not going to open.

“Doing it right now.” Friday said as Tony floated outside the glass. He couldn’t really see in, they had tinted the windows a dark shade from the outside to prevent pesky tourists in helicopters and paparazzi from invading their privacy. Right now, he regretted that, wishing he could see straight through and check if Pepper and Morgan were still in side.

“Mr. Stark. Feds are on their way, Karen told me the building it sixty-percent evacuated.” Peters slightly timid voice came through. 

“Friday, give me room heat signatures.” He said lowly before returning his attention to Peter. “Great. Listen carefully Pete. There are four bombs. One at each corner of the parking garage. The building can withstand one or two exploding, but nothing more. Get everyone as far away as you can.”

“Yes sir.” Peter’s dim voice came back.

“Heat signatures detected Boss.” Friday interrupted.

The heat scans came up on the HUD and Tony audibly gasped as he saw the heated images of Pepper banging on the lift doors, looking as though she were screaming at them to open, in her other arm, a small, terrified baby. He took several shaky breaths.

“Pete, I need you up here.” He said, his voice a little shaky.

“Okay!” Peter replied. “Coming.” 

Tony looked down, he could see hundreds of people below him on the streets. There was no way he could break the glass without killing some of them. He quickly fisted one hand and ducked it down slightly, allowing a small but powerful laser to begin cutting through the thick glass. 

“Pepper!” He yelled, hoping she could hear him through the glass, he growled a little, the glass was taking far too long. “Fri, why’s this taking so long?”

“You had the windows reinforced.”

“Fuck! Fri, why won’t the lift open?” He frantically asked, still going at the window with the laser, knowing it would wear down.

“It would appear that my control over the lift and any communications within the apartment have been blocked.” She responded quickly.

“What?”

His mind was racing, why wasn’t the lift opening? Why couldn’t Friday open it? Suddenly, it hit him. Friday wasn’t the problem, the lift was. Someone was tampering with the lift, delaying its usually prompt arrival and they had obviously also cut Friday’s communication within the apartment. The second Pepper stepped on she would begin to plummet to her death.

“Pep!” He screamed, banging his unused fist against the glass, finally catching her attention.

She turned towards him just as the lift doors opened. She turned back towards it, he couldn’t see her face, only her heat signature entering the lift.

“Pepper! No! You’ll die!” He yelled as she stepped in, the screaming, terrified baby on her shoulder.

He saw her eyes go wide as the lift doors closed, and he let out an audible gasp as the heat signatures began to plummet.

“Pepper!” He screamed, finally giving up and smashing the window with a repulsor beam. “Pete! Where are you?” He screamed for the kid. 

“50th floor.”

“Get Pepper! She’s falling in the lift!” He screamed into the comm. 

“On it!” Came the short response.

Tony flew across the room and yanked the lift doors out, tossing them across the room with the extra strength the suit provided him with. He was just about to jump down the shaft when the first explosion hit and a fireball made its way towards him. He jumped back, and flew down the hall as the fireball came through the open doors and into the apartment, the force knocking him back against the hallway wall.

He sat where he landed, leaning back against the wall. It took him several moments to recover from the blast, his eyes needed a moment to re-adjust. He took a shaky breath, looking down the hallway as the flames began to eat away at his home.

“Fri.” He said shakily. “Did Peter catch the lift?”

There was no response.

Tony felt a tightness in his chest and slammed his fist on the ground as he banged his head back against the wall. A tear escaped him.

“Friday.”

Silence once again.

“Friday, tell me!” he snapped, closing his eyes as he saw his future ahead of him, a life of misery, one without his wife or daughter. One where he wouldn’t be able to look at Peter ever again.

“Friday, I need to know, did Peter catch them?” He ordered.

“No boss.” She responded.

He stopped breathing for a moment, his heart felt as though it had been physically ripped out of his chest. His jaw felt tight even though it shook uncontrollably. With a loud groan he collapsed fully against the wall, it was as though his body finally fell into the same state as his mind, total despair. He’d given up. Let the flames take him, there was nothing more he could do. His brain was firing quickly, the down side to genius thought. He reasoned, that if Pepper and Morgan were gone, what more could go wrong? Peter would grieve him, so would the others, but they would move on. 

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice came through the comm.

He screwed his eyes shut as a loud sob tore through him.

“Mr. Stark? Where are you?” Peter’s worried voice came through.

Tony didn’t care, the helmet slunk back into the suit as he ripped out the ear piece and through it into the approaching flames, his grief driving him to near madness. He felt the heat of the flames growing closer, not yet burning him, the smoke quickly building up around him. He closed his eyes for a moment, willing himself to drift off. As he did, his mind began to work furiously. He pushed aside all other thoughts, settling on the image of Pepper and Morgan. He felt a small smile slip on his face as he unconsciously began to cough and the thickening air. His mind began to slip as he remembered one of the best moments of his life.

He’d been sitting in their bedroom preparing for a long day of meetings, in his suit and shoes, leaning back against the head board and playing on his phone as Pepper was still readying herself in the bathroom. She’d walked out, beautiful as ever, but she’d thrown a piece of plastic in his face, one that smelled a little like urine.

“What the hell, Pep!” He’d exclaimed, dropping his phone and instinctively shoving away the small stick.

He’d looked up at her where she stood at the end of the bed. She looked tense, but not at all nervous.

“Look at it!” She’d practically yelled.

He’d frowned.

“I’m not touching your pee stick.” He had grumbled back.

She had rolled her eyes at him, so he had complied, grumpily picking up the stick, his eyes widening as he read what it said. His eyes had snapped back to hers.

“I’m gonna be a dad?” He’d asked, not quite believing it.

She had nodded, happy tears coming to her eyes. Immediately, he had jumped off of the bed and wrapped her in a long, tender embrace, placing kisses all over her face as they celebrated together.

He sighed groggily as the memory faded, replaced by another. The first time they’d brought Morgan home. Then another, his hug with Peter earlier today.

He frowned, and something like pain shot through his cheek as an ember landed on his face. Somewhere, distantly, he heard a voice. Turned his head towards it and cracked his eyes open, a skinny outline making its way towards him.

“Mr. Stark!” He heard the muffled voice scream.

He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder.

“I got them, Mr. Stark. I got them. They need you.” Came the muffled voice.

He could only croak out a vague noise as he felt himself being lifted, his world fading away as he was carried out of the apartment.


	18. A Pinch of Pepper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No, Tony isn't dead.

Peter swung down the side of the building, allowing Karen to help him navigate the most gentle way to make his descent to the ground as he carried an unconscious Tony Stark over his shoulder. The older man was difficult to carry, while he was not overly heavy by Peter’s standards, he was just awkward to hold. He was still in his IronMan suit, and though he was not a large man, he did possess broad features, making it difficult to keep him in place over his shoulder. He looked down as he gently crawled down backwards a few storey’s, not wanting to shake the man or injure him. 

“Karen, I’m going to attach some webbing to him. Get Happy to pick him up off of the ground once I’m done.” He said. “This building could blow at any second, the last we need is for us to waste time making a slow descent.”

“Agreed, contacting Happy now.” Karen said quickly.

Peter turned to face toward the ground, walking along the side of the building as if it were a simple side walk. Carefully, he pulled Mr. Stark off of his shoulder, holding him forward, he pulled on hand back and shot some webbing to the front of his armour. He frowned a little as his eyes darted past Mr. Stark, he could see the ground below, still many storeys away. He never stopped walking, wanting to close that distance as quickly as possible.

“Happy has confirmed and is waiting for you to web Mr. Stark down.” Karen said, interrupting his brief thoughts.

“Okay, okay.” He huffed slightly, not quite sure of himself, despite knowing that this was the best possible course of action.

He took a deep breath and slowly, tentatively removed his arm from Mr. Starks back. The man sprawled back a little, his body slack in his unconscious state, causing Peter to panic momentarily, wondering if the man was about to plummet to his death. But he quickly retracted his hand, mentally reminding himself that the webbing could definitely hold Mr. Starks weight.

“Karen, how far to the ground?”

“Based on location upon asking: 20 stories.”

“Uh, okay?” Peter said, breathing heavily as he picked up his pace walking down, he began to lower the man slowly, Mr. Stark making a far quicker descent than he.

“How many meters?”

“Approximately 66 meters.”

“Shit, shit, shit.” Peter muttered to himself, picking up the pace, jogging lightly as Mr. Stark was lowered further away from him. “Come on, Spider-Man!”

He pushed himself further, suddenly he felt the building shake beneath his feet. He instantly stopped, breathing hard and loud, his chest heaving. He couldn’t help it, his mind flickered to the café.

“Karen, what was that?” He asked, his voice high in fright.

“Friday has contacted me; a second explosion has hit the building.

Peter squawked a little, remembering Mr. Stark’s warning, the building could only take two explosions. There had been one already.

“Peter, you must keep moving.” Karen’s voice came through his ear piece, firm but comforting.

He took fast breaths but nodded his head as though Karen could see him.

“Yeah, yeah. Of course,” He mumbled.

His feet felt like led only the glass beneath them as he painstakingly took slow steps. He could see the ground; he could make out Happy’s anxious face looking up at him, if he squinted, he could make out the wrinkles on the man’s forehead.

He breath was coming quickly, he could hear the sounds of people screaming on the streets below him, obviously terrified that the building would collapse. He looked around, people were pushing each other over in a desperate scramble to escape.

He screwed his eyes shut and forced himself to step faster, before opening them and breaking into a sprint, fixing his eyes on Happy as he continued to lower Mr. Stark to the ground. 

“Two meter’s slow down.” Karen said quickly just before Mr. Stark’s fingers brushed the concrete below him.

Happy looked up to where Peter was, still many meter’s up the side of the building, ushering him to gently place Mr. Stark completely on the ground. Peter focussed on his hand, moving gently until Mr. Stark was completely laid out at Happy’s feet. Happy looked up and gave him the thumbs up before immediately kneeling to check Mr. Stark’s vitals. 

Peter quickly withdrew the webbing and launched himself off of the side of the building, feeling the wind rush past him through the suit as he landed heavily besides the two men, ignoring the sharp tingling such a heavy impact caused in his feet. 

Happy had moved Mr. Stark and seemed to be gently cradling his head as the older man worryingly remained unconscious. Peter took in a shaky breath at the sight of his beloved friend and mentor, noticing, for the first time, a large, red mark on the side of the man’s face, obviously from the fire. He rushed forward, kneeling next to happy, his hand’s landing on Mr. Stark’s shoulder and chest. He bit his lip as his eyes began to water underneath the mask. He frantically looked up at Happy.

“He’s going to be okay, right?” He whispered.

Happy hesitated for a second, but his gaze remained firm, unwavering, uncertain but slightly confident.

“Um, yeah?” He said, his voice shaking slightly.

Happy looked back down at the man.

“Tony?” A voice cried.

Peter’s head snapped up, tearing his gaze from where Mr. Stark lay, widening as he saw Pepper sprinting towards them.

He stood up quickly, but made no move to walk away from where Mr. Stark lay.

“pepper!” He called, his eyes flickering between Mr. Stark and Pepper. “What are you doing, the building could blow at any second!” He cried.

She rushed towards them, baby Morgan notably absent as she quickly closed the distance.

She stopped as soon as she came to the edge of the side walk, her mouth opening and closing uselessly as she looked down at Mr. Stark’s unconscious body. Happy looked up at her, the older man gently lay Mr. Starks head on the ground and stood next to Pepper, his hand coming to rest on her shoulder. Pepper lowered her head to her chest, her eyes screwed closed.

Peter inched closer, his foot nudging Mr. Stark’s suit, the man lying in the middle of where the three stood. Peter noticed then that the area around them was still far too busy, people where still scrambling to get away.

“Pepper.” He said sharply, possibly a little too sharply. “Where’s Morgan?”

She lifted her head quickly, her eyes wide.

“She, uh, we. I mean, Tony-“ She began , stumbling over her words.

Happy patted her shoulder a little before taking over. Peter couldn’t help but worry, despite the obvious care and concern in the man’s face and tone.

“Pepper and Tony were prepared for a situation like this. Morgan has been removed by a private agent.” Happy explained, his thumb rubbing Pepper’s shoulder in a comforting manner.

Peter nodded absently, his eyes darting between the two of them. He dared not look down at the man on the ground.

“Guy’s. The tower is still a danger, we need to remove the explosives. I think Karen could talk me through it. You two get Mr. Stark as far away as you can, and remove as many people as you can and-“

Peter cut himself off as he watched Pepper kneels down at Tony’s side, her hand gently carding through his hair, she kept her eyes on her husband as she spoke.

“Peter. You can’t do this alone.” She said quietly.

Peter looked at her, his brow furrowing slightly, he cast a panicked gaze at the tower, only a few feet behind them.

“Well someone has to do something, you can’t stop me..” He trailed off, watching as she tapped the housing unit on Mr. Stark’s chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his heart beginning to pound violently.

The suit crept back into the unit, glowing brightly on Mr. Stark’s chest, showing that most of him remained uninjured thanks to the suit’s protection against the flames and smoke. Peter gaped slightly as Pepper leaned down, tears in her eyes as she kissed her husbands lips softly, whispering something so low, even Peter struggled to hear what was said, before ripping the unit off of his chest. She held it cautiously in her hands, biting her lip as she stood once again.

She looked over at Happy, tears still in her eyes. She nodded at the man.

“What..” Peter tried again, watching as Happy picked up Mr. Stark and carried him bridal style to a nearby car.

Peter’s eyes went back to Pepper.

“You need back up.” Was all she said as she placed the unit on her own chest.

Peter gaped uselessly as she tapped the housing unit and the Ironman suit spread over her quickly, but stopped short of covering her head. Peter gapped at her, word’s trying but failing to come out of his mouth. The suit morphed to fir her body, looking a little elegant on her, but just as deadly as it did on Mr. Stark, she lifted her head slightly.

“Peter.” She said, her voice was firm, but her eyes were red. “Tony can’t finish the job. But I know how to use the suit. I might not be a genius but Friday can talk me through most of the things Tony would usually be able to figure out.”

Peter stuttered slightly, walking closer to her, his hand stretched out.

“But, if you die, he won’t be able to live with himself.” He said quietly, his voice a little shaky.

Pepper huffed out a breath.

“He only thinks that.” She answered, a small smile on her face.

Peter stepped even closer, his voice becoming a little urgent as he grabbed her arm, desperate for her to understand.

“Pepper. He didn’t even try to escape the apartment after he thought you and Morgan were gone. He was ready to go. If you die..”

“He’ll still have Morgan, and you, and Happy, and James.” She said, as if she were simply stating facts. “Besides.” She continued, the helmet quickly appearing over her head. “I won’t die today.”

Peter took a deep breath and let go of her arm. He hesitated, but nodded slightly.

“Okay.” He finally said after a moment, his eyes slid past the helmet to watch as Happy finally drove the car away, carrying Mr. Stark to safety. “What’s the plan?”

“First of all. I have no comm. Piece, all of our communication will be through Friday and Karen. Friday is showing me where the bombs are right now.” She said. Her head tilted to the side as if she were studying him, but he knew that she was looking at the heads up display. “How does Tony fly and fight with all of this on the screen!”

“Well, he is a genius.” Peter quipped, trying to deflect with humour from the tense situation.

“Friday, minimalize the heads up display to the bare essentials. I’ll ask for things as I need them.” She said absently. “Peter. The first thing we need to do is identify the bombs being used so we can predict how much damage they will cause. What did Tony tell you about them?”

“He said that the building could only take one of two explosions before it was critically damaged. There has been two explosions already.” Peter replied as quickly as he could, adrenaline beginning to course through his veins. It still felt odd though, taking instructions of this nature from Pepper. 

“Okay.” Pepper said. Peter noticed an edge to her voice he had never heard before, one that made him realise exactly why her and Mr. Stark her a perfect couple. She held authority, but she didn’t hold it over anyone, she simply allowed it to flow through her in a graceful manner, and it terrified some, offended others, and endeared her to Tony Stark. Right now, Peter was balancing between being terrified of her and admiring her. 

“How are they detonating the bombs?”

“I overheard Stane talking with Mr. Stark. They’re remotely detonated.” Peter said.

Pepper stepped forward slightly, looking up at the tower.

“Hmm..” She said thoughtfully.

Suddenly, it occurred to Peter exactly how they should handle this. He knew it was reckless, but he also knew Mr. Stark would do exactly the same thing.

“Pepper.” He said, getting her attention once again. “Stane won’t blow the building unless one oy you are in it. Either you, Morgan or Mr. Stark. But you’re all out..”

“So the building is no longer the threat.” Pepper said, quickly seeing where Peter was going.

“We should find out where Stane is and confront him directly.” Peter quickly finished.

Pepper looked at him for a moment.

“Well that’s great but how do we find him.”

Peter looked at the helmet, and felt his cheeks grow a little warm under his own mask.

“Well, um, actually..” He began, running a hand over the back of his head.

Pepper turned to face him fully, her finger coming out.

“Peter, if you say what I think you’re about to say then I don’t care if we succeed, I will find a way to ground you for eternity.” She said. 

“Uh. Hmm. Well, you know. It is the best way to keep track of the bad guys.” He said, ducking his head slightly.

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, looking a little frightening in the suit, especially with the mask in place.

“You put a tracking device on him.” She snapped. “God, you’re just as bad as Tony.”

“Well, how else was I supposed to find him?” Peter said, rushing to defend himself.

Pepper didn’t respond for a moment, but sighed, relaxing her arms to her side.

“Fine. Where is he?” She huffed. 

Peter grinned triumphantly under his mask.

“Karen, locate Jeremiah Stane.” He said quickly, his eyes scanning over the head’s up.

“Locating Jeremiah Stane.” There was a moment’s pause. “Jeremiah Stane located. Stark Tower, New York.”

Peter felt as though had been punched.

“Pepper. He’s here. Somewhere, Karen said he’s here at Stark tower. We need to hurry.” He rambled. 

Pepper nodded, the helmet hiding any signs of panic and exuding a deceptively calm demeanour.

“Okay, kid. I’ll look from the skies, you get around and check local alley ways and buildings.” She said, leaving no room for him to question her.

“Okay, got it.” He said, sprinting away and webbing up to the building across the street.

“Peter, can you hear me?” Pepper’s voice came through the mask.

“Yep, yep. Loos like Friday patched you through.” Peter huffed as he swung across the gap between the two buildings, looking for any sign of Stane. He could see nothing, the area had become creepily quiet due to the evacuation, although, whenever he swung out to the street, he could still see a few stragglers running towards to police barricades several blocks away.

They worked together, scanning the area, checking in every few minutes with negative reports regarding sittings. All seemed calm, but Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

“Peter. Where are you?” Pepper asked after another small silence.

Peter swung down to the ground, landing right in front of the tower entrance.

“Right in front of the tower. What’s up?”

“Get up here, we have in coming.” She said sharply.

Suddenly, somewhere far above him, Peter heard the sound of gunfire, mixed with repulsors. His heart pounded as he ran to the side of the tower, webbing up quickly, he barley made it round when he saw exactly what they were up against. He swallowed his horror at the sight of a robot falling from the sky, a repulsor shaped hole in its chest, Pepper floating a few feet away, fifty other robots flying straight towards her.

“Holy shit, Pepper! I’m coming!” Peter yelled, moving as quickly as he could towards the battle

He saw Pepper’s mask move a little, showing that she had heard him.

“Okay kid. You can’t fly. I’m going to bring them down to ground level and try to contain any fighting to this block. Get ready.” Pepper huffed out.

Peter watched on as she turned and dove towards the ground, his eyes were blown wide as he scrambled after her, diving down to meet them on the ground. He landed hard on the concrete below, only moments before Pepper landed heavily next to, the still coming down. Peter’s heart was racing, he recognised these robots, although, they looked very different in the bright light of day as opposed to the darkened warehouse in Queens. He felt his body tense, ready for the fight, his knees slightly bent, ready to pounce up the walls of the tower and take down as many of these robots as possible.

He looked to his left, his jaw tight as he saw Pepper flex her hand, the repulsor lighting slightly as she did so. He looked defiantly back at the quickly approaching robots.

“We take these down, then what? These are probably a distraction to Stane can get away!” He said, his eyes fixed on them.

“One step at a time, kid.” Pepper said, a little breathlessly.

Peter wanted to respond, but she quickly took off in the direction of the robots, blasting approaching ones out of the sky. Peter didn’t hesitate to follow her lead, waiting until two robots had landed, somehow making it past her defences. They stood either side of him, but, despite their large side and menacing appearance, they didn’t really pose a threat to Peter. He stood tensed until they were in arms reach, suddenly, he sprung up, swinging up his leg and kicking straight through the chest piece of one, then, he spun around and ripped the head off of the other, watching with some grim satisfaction as it fell to the ground, sparks flying slightly in the middle of the street.

He looked up, the robots were still approaching, and it was becoming alarmingly obvious that despite her ability to use the suit on a basic level, Pepper did not have the deep understanding of it that Mr. Stark did. That is not to say she was not holding her own, she was smashing the things before most of them even hit the ground, Peter simply swinging between Stark tower and the neighbouring buildings to catch those that slipped through, however, the number of robots slipping through was beginning to rise.

“Pepper, got a lot slipping through!” Peter warned as he smashed another robot into the side of Stark tower. ‘You doing alright up there?”

“Yeah kid,” She said, her voice sounding more than a little puffed, reminding Peter that Pepper was still recovering from having a baby, and more than likely, in a good deal of pain and fighting off exhaustion. “Doing what I can.”

Peter frowned a little and swung a little higher from where he had been stopping the robots from reaching the ground, he was still a good few meters below Pepper, but now close enough to assist her if she was hit.

The two continued to fight, it seemed almost as though the robots would never stop coming, almost as though they were raining down upon the two heroes.

“Pepper!” Peter huffed out as he swung close to her, kicking at a robot that had nearly been able to grab her. “We need help! Or we need some way to figure out how Stane is sending all these robots!”

She punched something just behind him as he swung past again, returning the favour.

“I-“

She was quickly cut off when a large repulsor beam hit her directly in the chest, knocking her back at and angle.

“Pepper!” Peter cried, diving after her, only just managing to catch her arm a few feet from the ground.

He set her down carefully, watching with a tight chest as she stumbled back a little, leaning back against a column of the building opposite Stark tower. The helmet sunk back, revealing her very sweaty face. She was breathing hard, her eyes wide as she looked at him.

“Damn, Tony makes this look so much easier.” She huffed out, closing her eyes for a second.

Peter felt himself chuckle.

Pepper nodded to something behind him.

“Looks like the robots have stopped.” She said, a suspicious frown on her face, her eyes glancing up, but their view of the esky was blocked by the entry way of the building, which arched out into the street.

Peter looked over his shoulder, sparing a quick glance at Pepper as she rested against the column before stepping out into the street. It was eerily quiet once again, but, other than the destroyed robots lying around them, there were no longer any in the sky.

“Where’d they all go?” He mussed.

It was at the exact moment that Peter heard something approaching, sounding a lot like the Iron Man armour, approaching from behind.


	19. A Failed Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am gearing up for a sad ending, something I know not everyone will enjoy. However, I have further stories planned. :)

It couldn’t be! But Peter’s heart was beyond ready for a miracle, and the adrenaline was making it hard to think straight.

“Mr. Stark?” He muttered quietly, a small, overjoyed smile pulling onto his face.

Peter felt a grin taking over as he walked backwards, keeping his eyes on the skies for any approaching robots. He heard a thunk of metal behind him, causing him to allow the mask to fall away, a grin on his face as he turned to face the suited man behind him.

“Mr. Stark, I-“ Peter stopped short, his breath catching as he all but walked into the large, silver suit before him, he barely even had a moment to comprehend what was happening when the large metal hand suddenly swept out and grabbed his neck, easily picking up off the ground.

“Peter!” Pepper cried, the helmet coming back over her head, she wasted not even a second, diving out towards him.

Peter watched in horror as the palm of the metal suit light up, almost with some form of magnetic power, ripping Pepper towards it, also catching her by the throat.

“No!” He rasped desperately, beginning to feel a little dizzy, his hands clawing at the metal beneath him, but not focussed enough to use his full strength.

He looked up, the helmet opened, revealing Jeremiah Stane and his cold smirk. He held the two out as though the weighed nothing to him, looking casually between.

“My, my, my. Peter, you’re lucky I knew your identity before you let go of your mask.” He said with a chuckle, his eyes darted over to Pepper who had remained masked. “And you, Mrs. Tony’s wife! Who would have guessed! I had just assumed you were some slightly smarter than average trophy wife who popped out an heir!”

Peter could have sworn he heard Pepper snarl as she raised a palm and hit the Stane’s chest piece with a repulsor blast. The man stumbled back, his easy smile fading into a deep scowl, looking down right villainous. The grip on Peter’s neck tightend and he found himself being lifted up even higher. 

“You little bitch!” Stane snapped, and threw Pepper down to the ground as if she weighed nothing.

Peter uselessly reached out a hand to her, mouth gaping as she landed on the ground with a loud bang. He felt a brief inner conflict, a large part of him wanted to rush head first into another fight, but then he could injure Pepper more, and he remembered the lessons that Cap had taught him the year before, to think through his choices. And so, despite his inner turmoil, he chose to remain still until an opportunity presented itself.

“You are nothing! Stark doesn’t love you, he’s using you!” Stane spat at her. “He’s greedy, arrogant, vindictive, and manipulative!”

Peter looked down at her, tightening his grip on the hand around his throat until her felt the metal move slightly beneath him. He heard her groan slightly through the comm link established between Karen and Friday.

Peter narrowed his eyes, forcing himself to focus despite the continued tirade of insults towards Pepper. He focused in on Stane’s face, continuing to tighten his hand on the metal fingers around his neck. He didn’t want to fight the man just yet, they need information from him, but he needed to be free to defuse the situation.

In that moment, something caught Peter’s eye. Something small, flying just a few meter’s behind Stanes head. He squinted slightly, not sure he was believing his eyes.

“Pepper.” He whispered, quiet enough that Stane would not hear through his continued verbal assault on Pepper.

He did not take his eyes off of it, not even when he slowly pried a finger off of his neck. 

“Please be there, please be there, please be there. Don’t be a dream.” He whispered furiously to himself as he gently pried off another finger

Little Benson 1 flew a little closer, confirming to Peter that he was very definitely not dreaming.

Peter pried off the other fingers and dropped to the ground, ducking as Stane suddenly turned back to him, trying to grab him again. Peter easily ducked him this time, and kicked his knee, sending the man down in momentary pain.

He walked over to the little drone and held out his hand, looking thoroughly confused as the drone flew towards him and landed in his hand. Peter frowned as he saw a small, post-it note on top. He lifted it off, a smile forming as he read.

“Keep him busy. Back up’s coming.”

Peter let out a small chuckle, the tide was turning. He spun around in time to see Stane hobbling towards him, murder written on his face.

“Mr. Stane!” Peter cried, walking towards the man with a somewhat cocky grin on his face. 

Stane grunted and lifted his palm, repulsor flaring slightly. Peter didn’t hesitate, he lunged forward, kicking the man in the chest, not quite as hard as he had been on the drones, but hard enough to send the man stumbling backwards, obviously in pain. The man lurched backwards, releasing his grip on Pepper and dropping her to the ground.

“Pepper!” Peter cried, his eyes flickering quickly between Stane and the woman, trying to remain focused on the bigger fight before him. “You okay?”

She sat hunched forward on the ground, the armour still enclosed around her, but even through it, Peter could tell she was in pain.

“Yeah, kid.” She gritted out. “I’m good. Keep him busy.”

Peter barely acknowledged her statement, his eyes now focussed only on Stane.

“Hey!” He screamed up, walking towards the larger man, putting as much confidence as he could into each step.

Stane’s head turned towards him, a snarl on his face as those sharp eyes studied Peter’s approach.

“Kid, you’ve got a death wish.” The man snapped as he returned to his full height, almost towering over the approaching Peter.

“Yeah, well that makes two of us.” Peter muttered quietly, before raising his voice so Stane could hear every word he spoke. “Tell us how to diffuse the bombs and I’ll go easy on you!”

Stane looked at him, his brow raised and mouth twisting into something of an amused smirk that turned into a harsh chuckle. He shook his head a little as he clenched his fists.

“You seriously think I’m going to tell you that?” He spat, taking a few steps towards Peter.

The two men stopped only a few feet apart.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Peter asked, fighting to keep his tone as casual as possible.

Stane gave him an incredulous look.

“Why wouldn’t I? Stark is the enemy, kid! Can’t you see that! In this world, and every world!” Stane said, his voice raising slightly. 

“No, he isn’t!” Peter yelled back, feeling a slight defensive burn in his throat. “You’re jealous of him! And you blame him for something he had no control over!”

Stane stepped forward a little, the metal suit making loud, brash sounds as it moved along the concrete of the street.

“No, you little shit. You really think I’m that petty? I just needed a reason that would play well on TV to kill him.” He hissed, eyes so narrow that Peter could barely see his pupils.  
“You tried to kill Pepper and Morgan!” Peter all but screamed. 

“Yes, to get to him. Kid, listen. I’m telling you, Stark is bad news! Join me, and I’ll show you what I know.”

Peter narrowed his eyes, overly suspicious of the almost seductive tone to man before him was using. 

“No.” Peter snapped, firmly standing his ground despite the ever-approaching presence of Jeremiah Stane, needing to tilt his head back a little to maintain eye contact. “No, you’ll never convince me of that.”

“Look at the evidence, Parker.” Stane said quietly. “He’s the merchant of death. It’s his legacy.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper, causing Peter to absent-mindedly lean in a little. “Even after he stop manufacturing weapons, death has followed him everywhere he goes. Death, destruction and grief. Think about it. New York, Sokovia. He basically gave his weapons to the ten rings, and he practically made the mandarin. Peter, think carefully, this is not a man you should be idolising. Even at his best, he’s the worst.”

Peter nearly growled as his mask covered his face once again.

“Stop.” He hissed. 

“Peter. In every world, there is a Tony Stark, and each is worse than the other. Think about it carefully.”

“Stop!” Peter yelled, bouncing back from where Stane was now basically whispering in his ear.

Without further hesitation he lunged forward and tackled the suited man to the ground and straddled his chest, punching mindlessly at his nose.

“There are other worlds, Parker.” Stane grunted out as his own face plate fell forward, protecting his now bruised and bleeding face from Peter’s assault.

“No, there isn’t! You’ll never convince me!” Peter yelled as he let his hand swing down, he ripped of the face mask in one go, uncovering Stane to him once more.

“Peter!” Came Pepper’s frantic voice in his ear. 

He glanced up just enough to see Pepper flying over to him.

“Peter! Focus on the mission!” She screamed.

Peter huffed out a breath, a small part of his mind knowing she was right, but the deep anger in him needing a release. With a mighty yell, he swung his fist down as hard as he could, aiming just past Stane face and into the street below. Stane’s eyes widened at the physical evidence of Peter’s strength, hearing the concrete beneath him crack and seeing particles fly up around him from the force of Peter’s fists impact. 

“Peter, we need information.” Pepper reminded him, her metal gauntlet landing on his shoulder and bringing him back to reality. “Keep your cool. We need to think things through.”

Peter glared down at the man beneath him, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe through his anger. Stane looked up at him warily, almost waiting for the final blow. Peter’s mind was racing, he knew deep down that pepper was right, if he killed Stane they would have no way of diffusing the bomb unless Mr. Stark suddenly re-appeared.

With a grunt, he fell off the man, landing on his side, but allowing Pepper to help him up. He cringed as he heard a loud groan from Stane. Peter took only a few more seconds to catch his breath, leaning on his knees as he did, struggling to clear his mind. He felt Pepper grip his shoulders, a little harder than Mr. Stark usually did, obviously, she was not yet used to the extra strength that the suit allowed her.

“Pete.” She said, her voice low as the armoured eye slits looked directly at him. “Tony isn’t going to make it to this one, but help is coming.”

Peter felt as though he’d been punched in the gut, he took a deep, shaky breath, stumbling into Pepper a little.

“You mean, he’s…”

“What? No!” Pepper quickly said, stopping Peter from going down that particularly dark train of thought. “Happy sent me an update, he’s going to be fine, he’s at the safe house with Morgan.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stane beginning to move. Without hesitation, Peter lifted his leg and stomped if down on Stane’s armoured arm, causing the metal to crunch beneath his foot and the man to cry out in agony.

“Who’s backup then? When are they coming?” Peter asked, his voice becoming a little frantic. He looked back down at Stane. “How the hell do we stop this turd?”

“What would you do, Peter?” She asked.

Peter felt a little panic rising in his throat. He remembered countless moments in the past where Mr. Stark had asked him the same thing. Back then he had either risen to the challenge, wanting to impress his mentor, or, he had shrunk away, being willing to hide behind Tony’s shadow. But now, Mr. Stark was injured, probably still unconscious, and help was still on its way. More than that, despite Pepper’s great intelligence, she was not a fighter, sure, she was the great Pepper Potts, but she was not Tony Stark.

“Um.” Peter said, doubting himself a little more than he should. “I don’t know.” He admitted. Looking back at Pepper.

“Pete, you went a year without Tony, making decisions on your own. What are you going to do?” She pushed, her hand gripping a little painfully on his shoulder.

“I don’t know! I didn’t really face anything big in that time!” He snapped, but instantly felt a little bad for directing his frustration towards her.

“Come on, Peter.” Pepper pushed softly.

“I don’t know, I’m not Tony!” He said.

Pepper shook her head sadly.

“No, you’re not.” She agreed, her voice gentle, despite the urgency of the situation. “You’re Peter. Peter Parker. You can stop a bus with your bare hands. You’ve saved Tony’s life multiple times, including today. You’re a great hero, Peter. You need to see your own potential.”

Peter hesitated another moment, his eyes flickering back down to Stane, who had been suspiciously complicit during their short exchange, possibly due to the foot that still weighed down on his wrist.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second, trying to block out the distractions.

“Come on, Peter. You can do this; I believe in you.” Pepper said softly, her voice centring him in the midst of his inner crisis. 

He opened his eyes his renewed purpose, feeling the sunlight around him, noticing the stillness of the streets around them and looking down at the man before them. When he spoke again, he spoke with purpose, temporarily strengthened by Pepper’s words.

“Okay.” He said softly, only half to appease Pepper, more to prepare himself. “Okay, let’s do this.”

He could almost feel Pepper’s smile behind the face plate of the Ironman suit.

“I’ll get Karen to analyse the suit, there is a possible connection to the bomb detonation and Stane wearing this suit. In the mean time, I assume that Stane would have alerted someone to the need for backup as soon as he hit the ground. You and whoever our backup is, you guys face those robots.” He said quickly and assertively.

“Got it. Good plan, kid.” She said. She didn’t even hesitate, the suit powered up and she took off to the skies once more.

Peter watched her fly up for a moment, frowning a little at the thought of them being separated in the battle.

“Okay.” He said to himself once again. “Karen. What am I looking at”

“Kid, no use. I-“ Stane began, only to be cut off by Peter’s swift kick to the face, rendering him unconscious. 

“Karen, let’s try that again.” He said, glaring down at the unconscious man on the ground. 

 

Pepper flew higher and higher into the sky, eventually arriving at the same level as the highest point of Stark tower. She looked around her carefully, noting several points in which the robots could possibly enter and make their attack in defence of their boss. 

“Incoming!” Came a deeper male voice in her ear.

She turned from where she had been hovering in mid air, palms out, ready to attack, repulsors flaring a little.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Said the silver suited man floating before her, holding up with hands a little.

“Rhodey, what the hell, you scared the crap out of me!” She huffed out, very annoyed at his attempt at a dramatic entrance. “You realise there’s a guy in a suit very similar to yours trying to kill us? I thought you were him!”

“Sorry, pepper!” he said, flying a little closer. 

She sighed and rolled her eyes a little, but smiled a little to herself under the faceplate of the suit.

“Friday, connect Rhodey into communications with Peter and myself.” She said, watching as the head’s up display showed that her order was being carried out. 

Just as the words left her mouth, her eye caught something, or really, many somethings approaching upon the horizon.

“Perfect timing, Rhoades.” She said, her breath picking up as fear and adrenaline mixed together. “Peter, we’ve got incoming, get that suit sorted.”

 

Peter crouched next the unconscious man, waiting for Karen to finish her scan of the suit. He kept half an eye on the man’s face, looking for any signs that he would regain consciousness, and half on eye on his head’s up display, waiting for it.

“Peter, we’ve got incoming, get that suit sorted.” Pepper’s voice came through.

Peter looked up, mildly surprised to see the Iron Patriot hovering next to Pepper near the top of Stark tower.

“You guy’s gonna be okay?” He asked, allowing his eyes to remain on them for another moment. 

He watched as the first wave of robots came through, seeing them swarms around the two defenders. They looked like insects from where he stood, but he could also clearly see the light of Pepper’s repulsors and here the loud sound of Rhodey’s guns.

“We kid, we got this!” Rhoades spoke loudly over the noise. “Take cover and do whatever it is you’re doing down there!”

Satisfied that they had the situation under control, Peter grabbed the edge of Stane’s armour and dragged him under the cover of the same building he and Pepper had stood under earlier. 

“Peter, calculations complete.” Karen announced just as he set Stane down against a pillar in the entry way. 

“Okay.” Peter said, letting Karen know she had his attention. “Tell me what you’ve found.”

“Well, according to my observations, the detonations is, in fact connected to the suit as you earlier theorised.”

“Okay, do you know where the detonation point is” Peter asked quickly, his own eyes travelling over the suit, searching for some kind of indicator or switch that may detonate the bombs.

“I don’t know, Peter.” Karen said, sounding a little mournful.

“Okay, well, can’t we just tear him out of the suit?” Peter asked hopefully, wincing at the sound of damaged robots now beginning to rain down behind him.

“No, if the suit is controlled through life functions, such as a heartbeat, it could possibly detonate the remaining bombs.”

“Yeah, okay. That’s cool, but the life signs would have to be monitored through the arc reactor he’s using, right? They can’t be in the helmet since that has practically been destroyed.”

“Yes, what are you thinking, Peter?” Karen asked as Peter ran his eyes over the suit.

“Look for pressure points. Is there anywhere the suit is collecting data?” He said quickly, mindful of the ongoing battle above his head.

“Scanning now.” Karen replied quickly.

He watched carefully as she completed her scan, waiting to see if anything would show up. Suddenly a loud crash sounded behind him, heavier and louder than the other sounds that had been happening.

“Hey, guys! What was that?” He asked nervously, only glancing over his shoulder.

“We have a breech. One got through. Can you get it?” Came Rhodey’s panting voice over the sound of heavy artillery.

“What!” Peter exclaimed, turning around just as his senses went off to see a very broken and creepy looking robot making its way toward him, hobbling. “I don’t have time for this!” He exclaimed, frantically looking back at Stane who had now begun to stir slightly.

“We’re doing the best we can, kid!” Pepper cried through the earpiece, her voice strained as she seemed to fire at anything that moved around her. 

“Yeah, we’ve got like, a thousand robots coming at us!” Rhodey interjected.

Peter huffed out a frustrated breath, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, okay. Okay!” He jogged over to the stumbling robot.

“Scan complete. I read sensors over wrist pulse points and underneath the arc reactor.” Karen said quickly.

Peter shot out some webbing, attaching to the front of the robot and wrenching it forward, allowing it to destroy itself on the pillar it smashed into. He quickly turned back to Stane, the man was once again conscious and attempting to move.

“Nuh-uh!” Peter said, holding up a finger. “You don’t get to go anywhere! What are the sensors for? Do they detonate the bombs?”

Stane looked at him groggily, his eyes not quite focussed as Peter once again came closer to him. He mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” Peter demanded, kneeling down in front of him. “What did you say!”

Stane’s head fell slightly before he lifted it again, it seemed to take him a great deal of effort to raise his eyes to meet Peter’s.

“I said you’re just like him.” He slurred.

Peter stumbled back, horrified as blood came out of the man’s mouth.

“What? No, no, no. Tony Stark is a good man. I want to be like him. Are you okay?” He asked quickly. “Karen, read his vitals.”

“It appears that the impact to Mr. Stane’s head has caused critical damage to his brain.”

“No, no, no. This can’t be happening. This is what he tried to save me from.” Peter said quietly to himself.

Stane chuckled darkly.

“You know, Peter.” He began, allowing his head to fall back onto the pillar behind him, blood now pouring out of his ears and nose. “I wanted them dead. All of them. Pepper, the little one. Hell, I wanted Stark dead, I wanted you dead.”

Peter looked at him, hearing his own heart pounding. All he could think about was how Mr. Stark had tried to protect him from this very situation.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t realise, my kick. I’m sorry!” He rambled, reaching forward to touch the dying man’s arm.

“You know. Stark never intended to kill anyone either. Looks like his legacy will continue.” Stane murmured, his eyes falling closed.

“No, no! Stay awake! Karen, get an ambulance.” Peter yelled, his horror filling his voice.

“No use kid.” Stane whispered. With great effort he lifted his hand to Peter’s arm, and dragged him closer. “Kid, you know. I could detonate those bombs right now.” He wheezed, blood curdling in his throat. “But, looking at it now, my robots will probably finish off Potts, smoke inhalation will put Stark out of action for a while, and well, you’re a murderer. I don’t need to.”

Peter’s mask fell back as he felt the tears of regret on his cheeks.

“No, please. Don’t make me that. I’m sorry. Just hold on. Please. I didn’t mean it. Please.” He whimpered.

“You let him down, Peter. You killed me.” He choked out.

He began to shake slightly as Stane ceased breathing.

“No, no. Karen. Please.” He whispered.

“No life signs.” Came her quick, but gentle response.

Peter screwed his eyes closed and clenched his jaw, his breathing becoming harsh and ragged. Stane was right. He didn’t have to worry about the bomb’s because he had single-handedly ensured that Tony Stark would be destroyed. He had failed him. 

His jaw still clenched, he opened his eyes and looked at the dead man’s face, guilt building in him like bile in his throat.

“I can make this right.” He said to himself, dropping the man’s arm and standing.

“I can fix this!” He said and he turned and ran out of the entry way, webbing over to Stark tower and climbing to the battle that was dying down, but still continuing above.

“Come on, Peter!” He said to himself as he rapidly approached.

With a feral scream, he lunged at the approaching robots, punching through chest pieces and haphazardly throwing them to the empty streets below. 

“Kid. Where’s Stane?” Pepper called as she caught sight of him swinging between the buildings around them.

Peter ignored her, moving faster than he had ever before.

“Make it right, Peter.” He said to himself, over and over again. “Don’t let him down again.”

He swung between the buildings, catching and smashing the final few robots, allowing all of his rage to be taken out on them, making them his ultimate target.

He continued like this, allowing time to pass, swinging without any real purpose other than to punch through his anger. He barely even noticed they had finally defeated the final few until he stuck to the side of Stark tower, looking frantically for robots under the midday sun.

He didn’t understand what was happening, his vision was blurred and everyone seemed far away. He saw Pepper fly in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. But even then, he could only just discern that she was signalling for him to come down to the ground.

He began to lower himself down, in fact, he was only a few feet from the ground when he caught sight of the now empty entry way, the paramedics having come and gone with the body. He froze within arm’s reach of the ground, unwilling to touch the pavement. He screwed his eyes closed for a second, blocking out any noise around him as he finally, very slowly, lowered his feet to the pavement below.

“Kid!” someone yelled.

Peter’s eyes shot open as his mask fell back. He looked up at Rhodey, standing in the Iron Patriot suit, his helmet removed and concern showing all over his face. Rhodey placed a heavy metal hand on his shoulder.

“What’s happening with the bombs?” He asked frantically.

Peter looked at him, almost uselessly. He saw past him, Pepper approaching on foot, still decked out in the Iron Man armour, but she too had allowed her helmet to drop.

“Kid, the bombs!” Rhodey pushed. “What’s happening?”

Peter looked back up at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but felt his lip quiver a little before he spoke.

“Um. He, um, he said he didn’t need them.” He finally stuttered out.

His face fell as he said this and his eyes dropped ot the ground. It was all his fault, all of it. If he hadn’t acted so rashly, then none of this would have happened.

“What do you mean?” Pepper asked as she joined Rhodey.

Peter winced as she spoke, he was still unable to look at them as a small tear managed to escape his eye.

“Um. He, uh. Um. I-“ He cut himself off and shook his head as more tears escaped his eyes. Finally, he resolved to push the truth out. With a great deal of effort, he looked past both of them, still not able to maintain eye contact. “I killed him.” He admitted.

The horrified gasp that escaped Pepper was the final straw that sent him deeper into his shame and guilt. He felt Rhodey squeeze his shoulder.

“He said that he didn’t need to blow the building up because he had what he wanted.” He continued. “He could ruin Mr. Stark, through me.” Peter sniffed out.

Rhodey pressed forward.

“No, kid. No. That’s not what is happening. Don’t put words in his mouth. None of this is your fault.”

Peter’s eyes snapped up to the older man’s.

“I killed him! I kicked his head in! I did it! The one thing that Mr. Stark tried to stop me from doing. I murdered, oh. God! I murdered!” He gasped, the weight of his actions falling on him as he felt his knees weaken.

“No, Peter.” Pepper said softly, reaching forward to grab his arm and support his weight. “You’re okay. It’s okay. You didn’t murder anyone.” She assured him gently.

Peter looked at her.

“No. I did. I did it. Pepper. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve ruined everything.” He rambled uselessly, stumbling back.

He closed his eyes, his mind racing a million miles an hour.

He couldn’t do it. It had been the thing that he had last fought Mr. Stark on, the thing that Mr. Stark had prevented him from doing in the first place. But now, by accident, by not calculating his own strength, he had killed a man. How could he possibly face Mr. Stark now!

He knew what he had to do. He opened his eyes once more, looking at Pepper’s worried face.

“Pepper.” He sobbed, cringing as tears filled his face. “Tell him I’m sorry.”

“No, Peter. You have nothing to be sorry for. Come with us and see him for yourself.” She urged, hand still on his arm.

He shook his head and pushed her arm off, backing away from the two.

“I can’t, I’ve failed him. I can’t. I’m sorry!” he whispered, walking quickly away.

With that, he turned and ran down the street.

“Peter!” Rhodey called behind him.

“Pete!” Pepper called after him, their voices fading in the background as he allowed the mask to fall back over his face and he shot up to the buildings, making his way towards his apartment.

“Karen, block comms with Friday and Rhodey.” He whispered as he swung his way through the city.

“Will do.” She said, sounding almost sad.

Peter swung as quickly as he could, making it back to his little apartment in record time. As soon as he was though the window, he ripped the suit off of himself and threw it hastily in the cupboard. He didn’t deserve it. He was no longer worthy of anything, not May, not MJ, not Ned, certainly not Mr. Stark.

He moved quickly, shoving items in his old school backpack. He wrote out a hasty note to May and left it on the counter, his phone sitting alongside it.

He bit his lip for a moment, looking around the empty apartment one last time, tears freely streaming down his face as he thought of the people he had let down.

“I’m sorry.” He said to the empty apartment.

And with that, he was gone.


	20. Love you, Tony

Tony sat up in his bed, panting slightly with the effort that it took for him to move back and lean against the head board. He squinted through the darkness of the rom, a little disorientated.

“Tony?” Pepper mumbled into her pillow.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself from the dream he’d had, finally remembering that they were no longer at the tower, but still tucked away in the mansion on the out skirts of New York, the place they’d been using as a safe house for the last several weeks.

“Tony?” Pepper asked again.

Tony heard the sheets moving and cringed, he’d been hoping not to wake her with his most recent round of nightmares.

“Yeah, Pep.” He whispered back, his voice still a little hoarse.

He saw a vague outline of her move through the darkness before he felt her small hand on his arm.

“You have another dream?” She murmured.

Tony sighed, his head dropping as he played with the edge of the blanket. He’d been waking up like this every few night’s ever since Peter had disappeared. He knew it wasn’t his fault, but that did nothing to ease his conscience. He should have been there; he should have stopped him. So many should have’s!

“I’m sure he’s okay, Tony. We’ll find him.” She gently assured him as she smoothed his arm with her thumb.

He closed his eyes slightly before leaning down and pressing a sweet kiss to her brow.

“Go back to sleep Pep.” He murmured into her hair. “I just gotta so something real quick.”

She groaned slightly.

“M-kay. Don’t stay up all night.” She muttered as she buried her face in the pillow once again.

Tony grinned against her and planted one last kiss before pushing himself out of the bed and stumbling out of the room just as Morgan began to cry.

“I’ve got her.” He muttered, leaning back against the door to prevent Pepper from even thinking of leaving the comfort of their bed.

She made only slight groan in response, and pulled the blankets tighter around herself. Tony let out a little chuckle at the sight of this.

He walked out of the room and into Morgan’s nursery, tutting slightly as he entered the dimly lit room. Turned the nightlight up a little higher as he came closer to her crib and smiled down at the crying baby.

“Hey, princess.” He said softly, leaning down to pull her out and into his arms. “You want some attention?” 

The baby continued to cry in his arms.

“Aw, darling. It’s okay. Daddy’s got you.” He soothed, bouncing her slightly as he made his way out of the room.

He continued to sooth her as she cried, making the journey to the kitchen down the long hallway almost painful in his fear that Pepper would emerge from their bed.

“Shh, darling. Mummy’s sleeping.” He soothed as he finally walked into the kitchen.

He walked over to the sink and got some warm water running before moving back to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of breast milk that Pepper had stored earlier. He moved quickly, wanting the baby to cease her crying, he held to bottle under the warm water, waiting for it to warm.

“Hush now. You’ll be fed soon enough.” He muttered, bouncing her in his arms as he placed a gentle kiss on her head. 

Soon enough, the bottle was ready as he turned and sat the large island counter in the middle of the kitchen. He sat in the dim lighting for several minutes, watching as Morgan drank her milk, and then gently patting her back once she finished. Satisfied that she was going to be calm for the remainder of the night, her set her against his shoulder, content to just hold her while she settled back into sleep for a little while.

He looked around the counter and noticed a pen and notepad not too far from him. Without much thought, he leaned over and grabbed the two in one hand, careful not to disturb the baby in his other arm.

He knew exactly what he was going to do, and he wrote quickly.

 

“Peter.

I’m sorry for how everything has turned out, I wish you were still here. God, I wish we hadn’t wasted a year being mad at each other, but, what can you do? 

Anyway, I’m sitting here waiting for Morgan to fall asleep, and I just thought, what if it was her? You know. What if she did what you did?

To be honest with you, I’d be heartbroken. I love her so much I can’t even begin to describe it. I look at her and I realise I have the responsibility of showing her how to be a decent person in a world that I’m pretty responsible for screwing up. She’s my kid, and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. Same goes for you, Pete. You’re my kid.

I’m sorry that you think it’s all your fault. It’s not. You did what you needed to do and you saved hundreds of people from what could have been one massive disaster. You didn’t let me down. I’m proud of you, Pete. 

I just wish you hadn’t left, I wish you’d come and seen me, I could have told you that you didn’t let me down. 

We all miss you. Led, MJ, May, even Happy!

Please, come home soon.

Love you,

Tony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Book four coming soon.


End file.
